Cast:
* Russell Crowe plays Robin Longstride / Robin Hood; it is his fifth collaboration with Scott. Having loved the character since childhood, Crowe joined the project despite being initially displeased with the script. He spent 10 months reading books about the character and his historical basis, noting, “This has got to be the best [Robin Hood depiction] ever done, otherwise I should be doing something else.” Crowe put on weight for 2008’s Body of Lies, so Universal considered sending an NBA trainer to Australia to coach him back into fitness.Crowe trained with a bow and arrow for four months and was able to hit a target from 45 meters.
* Cate Blanchett as Lady Marion, the strong-willed, intelligent widow of Sir Robert Loxley. Becomes Robin Hood’s love interest.
* Mark Strong as Sir Godfrey, King John’s henchman.When interviewed in November 2008, Strong stated the character was originally called Conrad and was based on Guy of Gisbourne. He described him as having blond hair and a disfigurement from being struck by a crossbow bolt.
* Oscar Isaac as King John of England, younger brother of Richard.
* Mark Lewis Jones as Thomas Longstride, Robin Hood’s father.
* Mark Addy as Friar Tuck.
* William Hurt as William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
* Danny Huston as King Richard the Lionheart. The English King who dies besieging a castle in France.
* Eileen Atkins as Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Richard and King John’s mother. Vanessa Redgrave was originally cast for the part, but pulled out after the death of her daughter, actress Natasha Richardson.
* Max von Sydow as Sir Walter Loxley.
* Matthew Macfadyen as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
* Kevin Durand as Little John.
* Léa Seydoux as Isabella of Angoulême.
* Scott Grimes as Will Scarlet, Robin’s nephew.
* Alan Doyle as Allan A’Dayle. Crowe enlisted Doyle to play the Merry Men’s minstrel, having collaborated on the album My Hand, My Heart.
Filming locations gallery:
Mock castle at the Bourne Wood at the end of filming, showing the burnt-out castle gate
Mock castle at the Bourne Wood at the end of filming, showing the burnt-out castle gate, Bourne Wood, Farnham, Surrey, 8 August 2009. 51°11′26.31″N 0°46′39.01″W / 51.1906417°N 0.7775028°W / 51.1906417; -0.7775028
Burnt out castle gate and battering ram
Burnt out gate of mock castle and battering ram, Bourne Wood, Farnham, Surrey, 8 August 2009.
Filming the fight scenes on the beach
Filming the fight scenes on the beach, Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 23. June 2009 [28]. 51°39′31.90″N 5°3′52.23″W / 51.658861°N 5.0645083°W / 51.658861; -5.0645083
The beach filming
The beach filming, Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 23. June 2009 [28].
