Andrew Adamson on The Chronicles Of Narnia

Can you describe what it is like to work with four children as your main cast members?
I was initially a little intimidated at the idea of working with kids, largely because I just hadn't spent that much time around teenagers lately. In fact, I found it better than I could have imagined. Children are just so open to their imaginations and that makes them such wonderful actors, they're willing to go where you want the story to take them.

What is your favourite story from working with the child actors?
There are so many favourite moments it's impossible to pick any one.

What is the first question you asked in casting the actors for the four leading roles?
I was largely looking for children that were 'like' the characters, rather than just actors who would play them. I generally would just spend time with the kids and get to know them a little to see if they were like the characters I imagined.

What qualities were you looking for?
Honestly, I was looking for kids who basically were those characters so they wouldn't have to worry about acting, they could just be themselves. In Lucy (Georgie Henley), we found an adorable child who was empathetic and imaginative. In Edmund (Skandar Keynes), we found a boy whose natural curiosity and tendency toward mischief, was a big part of his personality - Skandar would agree! In Susan (Anna Popplewell), we found a beautiful girl who is very smart and together, and in Peter (William Moseley), we found a boy in the midst of becoming a man, who was also good at being a caring and nurturing older brother, which William is.

Even for adults, certain scenes in the book are pretty dark. How did you tackle those for/with the children?
C.S. Lewis could write something like "I can't tell you how bad it was or your parents wouldn't let you read this part" In the movie we had to deal with visualizing those moments. There are dark moments, there are scary moments, emotional moments, tragic moments. I wanted to bring these to life in a way that dealt with the reality of life and death situations but in a way that wouldn't prohibit younger children from enjoying the film. Kids like being scared as long as there is relief at some point, there is no need to be traumatizing or graphic to get the emotional effect that the book reached for.

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