‘We starred in a $1,500,000,000 fantasy franchise as children – it changed our lives’

For young people across the globe, The Chronicles of Narnia remains a beloved childhood movie.

However, that couldn’t be truer than for the lead stars, now all grown up.

I still remember the soft tickle of material as I brushed the back of my rickety wooden cupboard as a six-year-old, filled with the hope that, like Lucy, I too might discover a magical land.

Soundtracked to the whimsical notes of genius composer Harry Gregson-Williams, set in sweeping landscapes and starring industry legends like Tilda Swinton, Jim Broadbent and James McAvoy, there’s no denying the 00s film adaptations of CS Lewis’ novels were a smash hit.

And, I hate to break it to readers, but it has been exactly 20 years – yes, two whole decades – since The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe swept into the world to take us on the adventure of a lifetime (or two).

Jumping off the back of a rich era of fantasy franchises (Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean… need I go on), the Andrew Adamson-directed movie was helmed by four unknown young British stars.

So, we met the Pevensie siblings – Lucy (Georgie Henley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Peter (William Moseley) – who became the beating heart of this global sensation, which racked up $1.5 billion (£1.1b) at the box office across three films.

‘I think I was reading a sad book at the time,’ Georgie, 30, who was eight years old when she first auditioned, recalls to Metro about the whimsical look out the window that nabbed her the role.

William remembers discovering 3,000 people went for his role and, when it came down to the final two… well, ‘the rest is history’, while Anna says one time she even had to play ‘table tennis’ during her 18 months’ worth of auditions.

More than a year on, all four of them found out they had been cast as these life-changing characters.

‘It just felt completely surreal. I don’t think that at any point I ever thought that I would actually get it. It was out of this world,’ Georgie, who is ringing in from her latest set, shares.

Or as William, speaking on his day off from filming a new movie, aptly puts it, landing the role was ‘a very through-the-wardrobe’ experience.

As her first ever film role, Georgie remembers, with a laugh, that she kept on looking into the camera during takes and having to be told that reshoots were completely normal and ‘no, not her fault’.

‘It was definitely a big, big plunge into the deep end,’ she notes.

There’s no doubt that all four were burnished on the flames of greatness, with mentorship from the brightest stars in show business.

Luckily, their youth played in their favour. ‘We hugely benefited from all of their kindness and skill without being very aware of their fame or work history,’ Anna reflects.

Lucy and Mr Tumnus’ (James) sweet friendship is one of the most cherished aspects of the movie for many, and it seems like that bond was just as nurtured off-screen as well.

Talking about working with him, Georgie says: ‘He was so patient with me, an eight-year-old who is discovering all this stuff [and] sometimes has all the energy in the world.

‘I want to say he was 24 at the time, the maturity and generosity that he operated with – when I think about it now – I realise how exceptional it is.’

Meanwhile, over with William, he was getting hands-on with Tilda as The White Witch, which is a bucket-list experience if I’ve ever heard one.

That epic swordfight between the two took four months of choreography to perfect, he reminisces. It’s still etched into his muscles as he shows me the first few moves over Zoom, 20 years on.

‘It was a 110-beat sword fight, it becomes like a dance, and then the stunt doubles come in every now and again, and they do the dangerous bits.

‘Tilda loved doing it. She’s not a prima donna by any stretch of the imagination. She really wants to do all of it, which made it really fun,’ he says.

Elsewhere, the ‘jaw-dropping’ scene where the kids are trapped on a melting river of ice was filmed in a mammoth tank in Prague, which was rocked to create tidal waves.

‘People don’t make movies like that anymore,’

‘There’s so much reliance now on CGI, and less about practical effects, so it’s very cool to watch,’ Georgie points out.

Although, the immersive aspect was not always a hit. Anna, who is wrapping a recent stage play, reveals the more horrifying aspect of filming the iconic scene where Aslan rises from the dead, given that there were live mice on set.

‘I’m very rational about snakes and spiders, but for some reason, just totally irrational about mice. So actually, my main feeling around shooting that poignant scene was one of pure terror,’ she laughs.

When the movie came out, William remembers standing in a lift of the Royal Albert Hall at the premiere with Jim Broadbent when he realised just how much of a ‘fish out of water he was’.

‘People in Japan love it, then in Mexico, then in India. It transcends religions and cultures. [This story] transcends everything,’ he reflects.

Unable to comprehend its mammoth success at the time, nowadays Georgie realises how big it still is when she is sent TikTok edits of the movies from her friends who ‘can’t believe how little she is’.

They’ve heard every touching story under the sun from fans who remember their late loved ones every time they click play, to its legacy being passed down through generations of families.

The trio know there is magic woven into this tale that stays with you long after the credits roll.

As Anna notes: ‘It has been so powerful in helping people get through difficult periods of their life, I don’t think I could have ever predicted that kind of impact.’

Now adults, in a rare stroke of show business luck, the co-stars still have a lot of love for one another, with all three praising the incredibly supportive environment on set that stopped them from ‘becoming heinous human beings’.

‘The four of us are bonded because we had this incredible adventure together that spanned many years throughout our childhood and adolescence.

‘But that translated very well into life beyond that adventure. So we see each other whenever we can,’ Anna poignantly reflects.

Georgie echoes this, recalling that on her 30th birthday over the summer, she had an evening with her real-life and fictional siblings, surrounded by ‘both her families’.

Now, a new generation of Narnia stars is emerging through Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated reboot.

Our veteran actors are all too aware of how lucky they were growing up in an age before social media.

Imparting his wisdom, William tells the rising child stars to ‘never read the comments. I just don’t think it’s good, especially for a young person. Something like this is enough as it is. Then, as you get older, you can embrace it all.’

With tears in his eyes, he adds: ‘Narnia was one of the best things that ever happened in my life, I get emotional talking about it. I’d say to any kid, just enjoy it. Life is short, so you have to make the most of these moments.’

Georgie glows: ‘It’s so special for me to think about another little girl getting to experience what I experienced [and] to pass the torch a little bit. The fact that it’s going to be someone like Greta Gerwig, who is a real visionary, and operates with such a level of care [is amazing].’

As for whether we might see them back in the Narnia universe for a cameo, Anna fondly says she’ll ‘always do anything Narnia related’ while William said he’d happily be a ‘train driver’ if they asked.

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