Interview with Johnny Harris (Agamemnon)
Interview with Johnny Harris, who plays Agamemnon in Troy: Fall Of A City
Published: 14 February 2018
I'm always loath to play amateur psychologist in interviews. I could use words like sociopath and psycho to describe him, but I'm not really qualified for that
Was it of interest to do something based on a famous piece of literature?
Definitely. I left school at 13, so I guess a subconscious appeal of going into acting for me was that it’s a way of self-educating as you go through life. When I travel or when I read anything for a role, I like the notion that education doesn't finish when you leave school.
I've been able to explore professions and different ways of life and cultures, and I've been able to explore the world. Classical literature came to me later in life than many, in my early 20s when my acting career started in earnest. All of a sudden you're seeing levels that you didn't know exist and it's exciting. To be quite frank there's a lot of contemporary writing where those levels don't exist, so I love the classics - the more you read them the more you discover.
When starting a project, on some levels, it’s a risk to fully commit to the source material in case the version you’re doing takes a rapidly different approach, but as a person I didn't want to miss any opportunity. So I delved into the Iliad and a number of books and plays based on it.
Describe Agamemnon to us.
I'm always loath to play amateur psychologist in interviews. I could use words like sociopath and psycho to describe him, but I'm not really qualified for that. He's very complex, and he's also a ruler with immense power - he's the King of Kings. I was interested in the history of how he got to that stage and the relationship with his brother Menelaus. That intrigued me. That was something very real that I could kind of grasp and connect to.
He does some terrible things. Without giving anything away, after episode two there’s something unthinkable that we had to find his motivation for. It’s a combination of faith in the Gods, an element of peer pressure in advice from those around him, and the fact that this guy has the weight of the Greek nation on his back.
We wanted to find a human being in there too - we didn't want him to be just a two-dimensional villain, which he's not in the source material. His complexity comes from the source material so we built on that.
How physical is the role? He’s in charge of the Greek army isn’t he?
He is, but he's actually very restrained when it comes to fighting. He stands and watches from behind the action, delegating the huge armies he commands. I played those scenes as a man who's frustrated, essentially watching his plan fall apart from the sidelines, whilst full of this desire for annihilation, this inner, visceral sort of rage at what these people have done to his brother.
I was intrigued by the idea of him of wanting to get out there, under so much pressure and having to watch things unravel. I’m not a great football man, but a modern comparison would be Jose Mourinho or any football manager, watching the team he commands from the side-line thinking, what I need out there is 11 of me. I worked on building sites as a young man, and we had a boss who was so frustrated that we weren’t great at the job. He was a lovely man but his whole attitude was that a team of 10 of him was what was needed to get the job done. I thought that similar frustration was in Agamemnon.
The Greeks
The Trojan Royal Family
Priam, King of Troy - played by David Threlfall
Priam has ruled Troy since he was a young man. He is married to Hecuba and father of Hector, Cassandra, Alexander, Deiphobus and Troilus. His father nearly ruined the city but Priam saved it from destruction and Troy now flourishes. Together, Priam and Hecuba have made it a powerful and wealthy city port.
Hecuba, Queen of Troy - played by Frances O’Connor
Hecuba is Priam's wife, mother to his children and rules Troy with him. Although she is not originally from Troy she has lived in the city for 30 years and is held in high regard by the Trojans.
Hector - played by Tom Weston-Jones
Hector is Priam’s eldest son and heir. He leads the Trojan army and is a celebrated warrior, brave and honourable. He is happily married to the Cilician princess Andromache.
Andromache - played by Chloe Pirrie
Andromache is from nearby Cilicia, an ally of Troy, and is married to Hector. Their marriage was arranged, but is a union of love. She desires children but conception has proved hard.
Paris (Alexander) - played by Louis Hunter
Alexander, also known as Paris, is the second son of Priam and Hecuba. He spent his youth as a herdsman in the mountains unaware of his true background. His meeting with the gods changes everything.
Cassandra - played by Aimee Ffion Edwards
Cassandra is Priam and Hecuba’s daughter. At Alexander’s birth she had visions of disaster and continues to have premonitions. She has been looked after ever since, and is considered mentally unstable.
Aeneas - played by Alfred Enoch
Aeneas is Hector and Alexander’s cousin, who comes from the Trojan ally region of Dardania. He is upright, young but fearless. He has a father back at home but has lost his wife to sickness.
The Greeks
Helen, Queen of Sparta - played by Bella Dayne
Helen was born in Sparta and has lived there all her life. She is married to Menelaus, whose brother Agamemnon won her hand in competition, but it is a loveless match. She has a daughter, Hermione, but their relationship is strained. As the story begins, her unhappiness is beginning to become undeniable.
Menelaus, King of Sparta - played by Jonas Armstrong
Menelaus was born in Mycenae, which he considers the true cradle of civilization. He has ruled in Sparta for many years but it has yet to become his home. He does love Helen but his love is possessive and controlling. He admires his daughter Hermione greatly.
Agamemnon, King of Mycenae - played by Johnny Harris
King Agamemnon is Menelaus brother and the most powerful ruler of the Greek city-states. He holds huge influence in the region and is aware of Troy s burgeoning power across the ocean. He is married to Clytemnestra and father of Iphigenia, Electra and Orestes.
Odysseus, King of Ithaca - played by Joseph Mawle
Odysseus is renowned for his strategic intelligence, wisdom and cunning. He loves his home and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus. He is a true islander, somewhat solitary, ruthless when needs must, but with a deep love of home and family. Odysseus is called upon to help the Greeks return Helen to Sparta.
Xanthius - played by David Avery
Xanthius is a servant of Odysseus and travels with him to Troy. A loner who prefers dogs to men, Xanthius is used by Odysseus to infiltrate the city. Quiet, invisible and deeply intelligent, Xanthius is Odysseus secret weapon.
Achilles, King of the Myrmidons - played by David Gyasi
Achilles is the most feared of all the Greek warriors travelling to Troy. He is by myth half human, half-god, created by the union of Peleus and Thetis, a sea-nymph. He is a great warrior, almost unbeatable, but his sense of honour tips into pride and stubbornness. His friend and lover is Patroclus, another great Myrmidon warrior. They are inseparable.
Picture: Menelaus (Jonas Armstrong), Achilles (David Gyasi), Agamemnon (Johnny Harris), Odysseus (Joseph Mawle)
The Gods
Zeus, King of the Gods - played by Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Zeus is the God of storms, tumult and justice, who holds ultimate power over both gods and mortals. He chooses not to take sides in the Trojan War, despite all attempts to engage his loyalty. He insists that even the Gods cannot change Fate, which will decide the outcome of the war. Zeus is married to Hera and father of many gods including Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis and Hermes.
Hera, Queen of the Gods - played by Inge Beckmann
Hera, is the goddess of marriage and wife of Zeus, but they have a turbulent relationship. She is furious at Paris for not choosing her in the judgment of the goddesses and fiercely loyal to the Greeks.
Athena - played by Shamilla Miller
Athena is goddess of wisdom and war. She sides with the Greeks, angry at her rejection by Paris. In particular, she favours Odysseus and Diomedes.
Aphrodite - played by Lex King
Aphrodite is the goddess of love. She is loyal to Paris, who chooses her as the finest of the three goddesses, so she supports the Trojans in the war.
Artemis - played by Thando Hopa
Artemis is the goddess of hunting and wildlife. She supports the Trojans in the war. Agamemnon offends her and she demands a terrible price from him.
Apollo - played by German de la Melena
Apollo is the god of prophecy, plague and healing. When Apollo’s priest asks for help on behalf of his daughter Chryseis, he is quick to answer. He favours the Trojans in the war.
Hermes - played by Frances Chouler
Hermes is the messenger of the gods and is present at the judgement of the goddesses, explaining to Paris the task the gods have set him.
