Fans of the FX series "The Bastard Executioner" got a surprise last week with news that the series would be ending following its Nov. 17 finale. Even more surprising was the detail that series creator Kurt Sutter was the one pulling the plug on his own show after just one season. While the gritty medieval drama was praised for its high production values and stellar performances, the series didn't quite reach the "Game of Thrones" audience it was intended for. Sutter, via an ad in the Hollywood Reporter stated: "I don't want to write something that nobody's f--king watching."
For actor Danny Sapani — who played Berber the Moor, an educated noble of Moroccan heritage forced to convert to Catholicism despite his devout Muslim beliefs — news of the show's premature demise didn't come as a shock.
"We weren't perhaps entirely surprised because there were some hints earlier towards the end of the series," Sapani told Headlines & Global News exclusively from his home in England. "We were aware of the ratings having dropped, however, that's not necessarily a foregone conclusion."
Might we see you in something set in present day?
I'm always open to that possibility. I'm always excited by new, well-written work. It always comes down to the story in the end. It would have to speak to me and other people and, perhaps, I could bring a high level of research to the current stuff also and find something that's shockingly apt for these times.
For the most part, you predominantly work in the U.K. Would you be open to working in America?
I'm very keen to work in America and it's something I'm keen to create. That opportunity is a little more viable now than it was some time ago, but it's a little too early to say how great the possibility is. Still, it's something I'd certainly welcome.
So the doors are open and you're just a plane ride away?
Exactly! Absolutely! And, with pilot season, it's all open. There is a possibility!
