The Letter For The King, arriving on Netflix later this month, is an epic fantasy series based on the Dutch youth novel by Tonke Dragt. In it, the young squire Tiuri (Amir Wilson) finds his ascension to knighthood interrupted by a fateful letter which leads him to embark on a quest on which the fate of various kingdoms rests.
In the series, he is joined by several fellow novices who are each fighting for their land in their own way. Screen Rant chatted with Wilson and costars Gijs Blom, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, and Thaddea Graham about their characters’ motivations and the depths displayed by each of them.
Guys, I was blown away when I saw the scope and scale of this. It was amazing, and I love the diversity in the show. I think every single time I started it, a new person walked in and I had to start it over. Talk to me about each character you guys play.
Amir Wilson: Who's going first? Am I going first? Okay, cool.
Tiuri, the best way to describe him is he's an underdog. He's an outcast in Dagonaut, where he comes from, and I guess he goes on this journey to discover something new about himself. I think that's a good way to describe him.
Gijs Blom: I think Viridian wants to save the world in his own way, and he believes that the ends justify the means. He wants to make it a better place but he knows what he has to sacrifice and what everyone has to sacrifice. And not everyone agrees with him, so that's why he's carrying the burden of being the actual hero of this story. If I might say so.
I like that. Now you've got me on Team Viridian a little bit; I like that answer.
Gijs Blom: Great, thanks.
Ruby Ashbourne Serkis: Lavinia is a feisty young woman from this horrible little town goodness of Mistrinaut. And at the beginning of show, she doesn't mind exploiting people to get ahead. She doesn't really care what anyone thinks of her. But then she meets young Tiuri...
Amir Wilson: I change her, basically. I'm the reason -
Ruby Ashbourne Serkis: He teaches her how to be good and nice and warm.
Amir Wilson: Because I'm a good person.
Thaddea Graham: His character is a good person. You're a different story.
Iona is arguably the most skilled novice, and she -
Amir Wilson: Other than Tiuri. I'm joking, I'm joking.
Thaddea Graham: Do you want to fight? I'll fight you.
She's incredibly skilled, and she's had to grow very quickly. And she comes from a less privileged background to the other novices. So, she's got really nothing to fall back on; this has to work. And that's why she's so quick to find the thing that's going to move her forward, and that's going to drive them.
I think she is a driving force for the novices. I think they would never ever get anywhere without her. She keeps them on track.
Usually in fantasies, women are relegated to playing the damsels or the Evil Queen. But I love this show, because it actually gives you guys a lot of depth with your characters. Talk to me about the power that comes with that.
Thaddea Graham: I think it felt... How to word this? It felt really unique, because it's not always that way, and it should be. And so it was kind of like, "Why do I feel so surprised that she's not a damsel in distress?" Because we shouldn't feel surprised like that; that shouldn't be the case across the board.
Will was amazing in giving us such strong female characters, and it's that's not just what defines them. They're just strong people. It's not that they are a girl or a female; they're strong people, and it doesn't really matter in our world. I don't think it's ever mentioned...
Amir Wilson: It's not amazing; it's never defined in the story or in the series that Iona is actually a girl. It's kind of like, they're all just people and they're all the same.
Thaddea Graham: It's so powerful... I wish that when I was little, I had someone like Iona or Lavinia, or Darya or Queen Alianor, to watch and look up to and aspire to be. I think it's really important that that is being represented.
Amir Wilson: All the female characters in the show are so, so strong. Stronger than the men. Yeah.
Your character is definitely the audience's point of view and perspective. Can you talk to me about how his parents kind of shape his character?
Amir Wilson: Tiuri's parents, I mean, it's hard because his Parents have always - he's always wanted to discover more about his roots and where he's originally from, Evillan. And his parents have kind of sheltered him from that, and wanted him to just forget about it and kind of come to terms with the fact that he's not going back there. And there's nothing there for him.
And I think Tiuri doesn't agree with that; he wants to know more about himself. I think that's his motivation through a lot of the story: to discover more about himself. In the monastery, when he meets the Abbot, that's a big turning point for him where he really discovers and meets his true self.