Tony talks Black Magic with Sunday Mercury
AS stubborn King Uther in TV's Merlin, Anthony Head has a penchant for executing anyone found using magic in Camelot.
Ever since enlisting the aid of the dark arts to father his son Arthur, he has ordered the death of men, women and children without the slightest of qualms.
But Anthony can easily understand Uther's fear of black magic - because he's seen it in real life.
The 56 year-old actor, much loved as librarian Giles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, once led a TV investigation into myths and legends.
"We were looking at witchcraft, vampires, werewolves, demons and zombies," he says.
"Are these horrors just made up or do they really exist? We came across some disturbing things during the course of our series.
"There was one woman who, while we were filming in Haiti, said she would dig up a zombie from the grave for £1,500 and I could spend 30 minutes with it. "She said I would know it was dead from the smell!
"I politely refused. The scary thing was that this woman was so normal and smiley when she was asking me.
"There's even scarier stuff that is done in the name of belief. We investigated the Muti murders in South Africa where people kill for body parts.
"And in the village we visited in Romania, families had dug up a member of their family believing he was a vampire. That was spooky.
"The villagers, although most were old women, were actually very frightening and made it clear that they didn't want us around."
There are plenty of witches to bedevil Merlin on TV, and Anthony met some of real ones, too.
"I met people involved in white witchcraft," he explains. "But I also saw evidence of people who are drawn to the dark side, and who do some despicable things to innocent people in the name of magic.
"So I really did get to understand why someone would become unnerved by the concept of magic. I have every sympathy for Uther."
Anthony reveals there are chills closer to home than Camelot.
"There's the ghost of a little girl who lives in our house and I've heard her on a couple of occasions, as have my daughters and partner. She's not scary, though!"
SOURCE: blogs.sundaymercury.net
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