The 1990s saw a revival of the fantasy genre, allowing for legends like King Arthur and Merlin, dragons and medieval knights to find new relevance. Having seen his star power rise after Jurassic Park, ...

"This is not a kind of wizardly, scraggly old grey-bearded, pointed-hatty guy, but a romantic, a statesman, a spiritual man," says Sam Neill, defensively. Neill plays the title role in Merlin, based ...