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'Merlin' - Main Cast

The sharacters and actors from the BBC/NBC series 'Merlin'

By , About.com Guide

The BBC series Merlin aired in the Summer of 2009 in NBC; for its second season in the United states, it moved over to the cable channel Syfy.

Colin Morgan as Merlin

BBC

A powerful wizard still learning to use his gifts in a land where magic is forbidden on pain of death, Merlin has learned his destiny is to protect Arthur and help him become a great and just king who brings peace and prosperity to Camelot. In the meantime he must work as Arthur's manservant, enduring the menial work as he slowly learns that the prince isn't really the entitled prat he seems. Fortunately Merlin has the guidance of Gaius, who knows Merlin's secret and once knew something of magic himself, and the friendhip of fellow servant Gwen, who serves the Lady Morgana. Above all he must hide his abilities from the wrath of Uther, even as he uses them to shield Arthur from the sorcery that still holds sway in Camelot.

Bradley James as Prince Arthur

BBC

Blessed with good looks and a superb knack for all kinds of combat honed by years of training, the young crown prince is his father's only son. As heir to Uther's throne he feels the future of Camelot on his shoulders, and is constantly pressing himself to live up to his father's expectations of him. Yet he feels a knight's duty to the people he protects most of all, and is not afraid to stand up to the king for what is right. He also knows he must someday have a queen, and is troubled by the feelings he has for the beautiful, plain-spoken servant girl, Gwen.

Richard Wilson as Gaius

BBC

Gaius, the court physician, is a trusted counselor of the king and a master of lore both natural and magical. Though Uther does not know that Gaius harbors a young magician, he trusts Gaius's judgment on threats of a supernatural nature. Gaius knows that his knowledge and steady guidance will help the sometimes reckless Merlin to stay alive long enough to fulfill his destiny, and comes quickly to feel a paternal affection for this son he never had.

Katie McGrath as Lady Morgana

BBC
Uther's ward, the daughter of the king's long-dead comrade-in-arms, Morgana is both soft and steely, capable of towering rage or profound compassion. Unlike Arthur, who feels the weight of responsibility and duty, Morgana feels free to challenge Uther's tyranny at any turn, and their relationship has often turned ugly despite Uther's fatherly sense of responsibility for her. Worse yet, her premonition and dreams have started he worrying over whether she possesses that attribute Uther hates and fears most -- magic.

Angel Coulby as Guinevere

BBC
Gwen is the noble-hearted daughter of the blacksmith of the lower town, wrongly killed for practicing magic, and works as maid to Lady Morgana. She has an endearing habit of speaking forthrightly, then correcting herself in an attempt to be more tactful, not always successfully. She feels a great friendship both with Morgana, despite their difference in stations, and with Merlin as well. She knows she can rely on Merlin for anything. And is coming to realize she has strong feelings for Arthur, despite the impossibility of their being together. She also has a bond with the handsome would-be knight, Lancelot, who would devote himself to her if he could.

John Hurt as the Voice of the Great Dragon

BBC
The Great Dragon, chained and forgotten in a vast cavern far beneath the lowest dungeons of Camelot, has lived for centuries and is the last survivor of his brutal race. He possesses a magic of his own, as well as the oracular knowledge that Merlin must help and protect Arthur. Merlin keeps his visits to the Dragon secret even from Gaius, and is increasingly unsure he can trust the creature, who clearly has his own agenda and interests at heart. Yet Merlin still feels a connection with the Dragon, as a living relic of the time of Old Magic.

Santiago Cabrera as Lancelot

Lancelot dreamt of being a knight of Camelot, but since one must of noble rank to gain this honor, Lancelot, with Merlin's help, pretended to nobility in order to have a chance to prove his nobility to Arthur. Lancelot was successful, destroying a monster none of the knights could defeat -- thanks to his great courage and a powerful spell on his lance cast by Merlin. But though Arthur was impressed, Uther would not set aside the first law of Camelot, that its knights must share the common bond of nobility. Lancelot turned to a life of errantry, but not before coming to love Gwen -- and revealing to Merlin that he had discerned, and would protect, his secret.

Anthony Head as King Uther Pendragon

BBC

Uther is driven by the need to protect Camelot from all threats, and there is no threat greater than magic. To Uther, magic and all its practitioners are evil, bar none, and for the past two decades as levied a death penalty on anyone found guilty of working it. He justifies his ruthlessness by the strength and peace he has brought Camelot, and though not incapable of admitting a mistake will not be gainsayed in his stamping out of sorcery. Behind this lies guilt and anger over a long-buried, secret bargain with servants of the Old Magic. After years of childlessness he was gifted with a son, but he was horrified to learn that the price would be the life of his beloved wife. Only Gaius knows Uther's dark secret.

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