Q: Were you familiar with the book before you started shooting the film?
A: My Mum actually read me the book when I was about 10 or 11. I've got this very, very battered old copy, which I've had on my bookshelf since I was a child. I had not read the book in some 5 years, but when I was auditioning, there were things I remembered so clearly. In the first page I remembered a beautiful bit about Joey's first memories being in dark stables and rats scuttling along the roof beams. For some reason, that stayed with me and had a big effect on me as a child. It's just such a joy to be playing Albert now.
Q: In 'War Horse', your character and his horse get separated and then reunited.
A: Back then, horses were the machines that got men and machinery to the front, so they needed thousands and thousands of horses. Joey gets bought by the Army and taken out to the front. Albert tries to join up, but he's too young. Then we follow the story of the British soldiers and German soldiers who come into contact with Joey as we follow him. With the Germans, he's pulling these huge guns and you follow the lines of the German soldiers and see how equally horrific it was on both sides. Then finally the war brings Joey and Albert back together.
Q: Did you receive any kind of training for the film?
A: We spent two months of really intense horse training with these Spanish stuntmen. It's incredible when you see them ride, because they look like they're part of the horse. I had learned to ride on Riding School horses, so I basically had to learn all over again. It was the difference between learning to drive a scooter and being put in an F-1 racecar. These horses are just so sensitive. You just have to think what you want them to do and they go and do it. They're magnificent. I mean, we're riding on the original Black Beauty and Seabiscuit. He's in the film and he's one of the Joeys.####
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