Aneurin Barnard began having nightmares about Richard III after the English monarch's bones were found while the actor was filming his role in The White Queen.
The 26-year-old Welshman plays Richard Iii in the historical Tv series and he was mid-way through work on the first season when a team of archaeologists uncovered the king's remains underneath a parking lot in Leicester, England last August (12).
Barnard was so unnerved by the discovery, he started having nightmares and he became convinced the long-dead king was haunting him.
He says, "It was a really odd moment to be playing him. He's been dead for 500 years and the disappearance of his body was one of those great historical mysteries. And then he was found. I became completely obsessed with looking at his bones and it started to feel like he was haunting me. I started having these weird nightmares where it felt like he might enter my body and seek vengeance. 'Oh God! He's coming for me!'"
However, the actor also reveals the discovery made his portrayal of the king much more accurate.
He adds, "It was a huge relief to discover that despite his curved spine, he wasn't a hunchback; at most he might have had a subtle lean on one shoulder... I'd analysed his skull and body to make sure the make-up department put the wounds in exactly the right place (for a battle scene)... On screen you won't notice, but at least I know we had the wounds in the right places."
Richard Iii of England died in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The White Queen airs in America next month (Aug13).
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