Exclusive Interview: ‘Merlin’s’ Angel Coulby

The story of Merlin has always charmed me, as I have written about before. I was so happy when Syfy picked up the 2nd season and I’m praying they pick up season three. With the ratings being as satisfactory as they are, I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Merlin has been a breath of fresh air in its uniqueness. Arthur as a young prince; Merlin as more of an apprentice than the great wizard we know from the tales; Morgana as a kind and caring woman, not the wicked sorceress she became in the stories; and Guinevere as a serving girl in the castle at Camelot. All these are elements that make for an interesting and fun television show.

I had the pleasure of talking with Angel Coulby, who portrays Gwen on the show, a couple of weeks ago. The British actress has been in the industry for only 9 short years, yet to watch her play Gwen you would think she has had a camera trained on her since birth. “I’ve always know I wanted to be an actress ever since I knew what it was. My mom actually said, when I was very, very young, ‘You should be an actress.'” She studied for her degree in acting at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, and from there landed a role on the sitcom “orrible“. Angel then got herself an agent and has been working steadily since then.

Angel Coulby as "Gwen"

Getting the role on Merlin was a dream come true. “My agent called me up and said ‘They’d like to get you in for the role of Guinevere in a new version of Merlin.’ I was very excited because I’ve always been interested in that side of things. I’ve always been interested in fantasy genre and that side of film, and I saw Merlin on tv a while ago and thought I would like to play Guinevere, that would be amazing. So I went in and auditioned – I had only one audition and was over the moon when I got the part.” Merlin has been really the first high profile project for Angel and is helping to move her more towards where she’d like to be in her career.

Angel is also in the sweet position of being able to work with such lovely actors a Colin Morgan, Bradley James and Santiago Cabrera as Lancelot. “You know its funny because obviously I can see they are very attractive but I’ve worked with them so long now that we’re all just mates really. I hear a lot of girls say ‘Oh my God, I’m so jealous! You’re so lucky!’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah I suppose,’ but I don’t look at them like that.”

I wanted to know how much of Angel is in Gwen. “I’d like to think that I’ve got a good heart and I’m kind. I think kindness is one of the most attractive traits in anybody. I don’t think I’m quite as selfless as she is. She always, always does the right thing. I don’t think I can be like that. I’d like to think I can be as noble as Gwen. I’d like to have a few more stunts for Gwen – more action!”

As the second season of Merlin continues, we will see Gwen’s role begin to evolve as she moves slowly towards her ultimate part, sharing the throne with Arthur as his queen. Angel couldn’t drop me any clues as to how that will happen because she doesn’t know herself, but I’m confident in the excellent writing staff for this show and can’t wait to see it play out. Merlin is my favorite Friday night guilty pleasure and I’m happy that it’s one I can share with my kids.

Merlin airs every Friday night at 10/9c on Syfy.