May 9, 2008

Life is very surreal for newcomer Ben Barnes these days. At the moment, anyone driving east on Los Angeles' historic Sunset Boulevard will find themselves face to face with an eight-story image of Barnes as the title character in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." Somewhat naively, Barnes says being the centerpiece of the film's marketing campaign leaves him "completely breathless."

The 26-year-old says, "You know that it's you and you know it's a character you've played, but there is a part of you that just refuses to acknowledge that. 'Who's that guy?' It's a very, very difficult emotion to explain. It's almost quite confusing to see yourself on those things. And then you rationalize: 'Oh, it's a marketing campaign. It's hair extensions and a tan. It's not really me.'"

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But it's a reality the up-and-coming Brit is being forced to come to terms with.

"Someone says there is going to be an action figure and you think, 'Amazing! I played with He-Man and Transformers,'" Barnes says. "Then you realize what you did with your He-Man and Transformers, which was smash them against each other."

"Caspian" is the second of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" books to make it to the big screen ("The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is next). After the success of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Barnes is dealing with the pressure of having the blockbuster franchise on his shoulders with charismatic aplomb but, truthfully, he isn't alone. All four Pevensie siblings from the first film are back for this adventure, and Barnes smartly engaged in some detailed research on his fellow cast members before meeting them.

Barnes recalls watching an interview with Georgie Henley, who plays Lucy, on the DVD extras from the first film: "I ... listened to Georgie sit there and go, 'Oh, Will is like my brother and Andrew is like the dad when Dad's not there. And it's all lovely and really nice.' And I just thought, 'Get me a bucket. I don't believe you.' And then I walked into the production office on the first day and they were playing table tennis with each other and they were sitting on each other's laps and sharing ice cream. It was like something out of a Disney film."

No doubt appropriate since it is a Disney film, Barnes says the "Narnia" veterans were very welcoming and that it really was a family atmosphere on the set.

Director Andrew Adamson has said "Caspian" is a darker and more action-packed film than its predecessor, and much of that involves Barnes. The actor dishes that he suggested he knew how to ride a horse when in fact he was a novice, but, with some fine Spanish instruction and padded cycling shorts to ease the pain, it quickly "clicked into place."

"I'm going through rivers and running flaming torches up and down ramps and [riding] through trees," Barnes says. "It was like a ride at Disneyland."

And as for the more choreographed battles, Barnes adds, "The sword fighting is just as fun as it looks and I can't lose because I'm in the next film."

And that's the best kind of job security anyone can have.

"Prince Caspian" opens nationwide May 16.

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Next: Peter and Susan's Last Battle for 'Narnia'