Danny Sapani On ‘Bastard Executioner,’ ‘Penny Dreadful’ [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

Danny Sapani stars in FX’s new period drama The Bastard Executioner as spiritual advisor Berber the Moor.

Danny Sapani on ‘Bastard Executioner’

While Wilkin Brattle is Bastard Executioner‘s main protagonist, Berber serves as his rock, supporting him throughout his conflicts. But more than serving as an advisor to a warrior, Sapani’s Berber also represents the larger story of a cultural outcast.

“I also have a very interesting history in that I’m sort of a devout Muslim in a very Catholic Wales of the 15th century,” Sapani told uInterview in an exclusive interview of his character. “He has his own history and a journey, he’s come from somewhere very different to the life he lives here. He can read, suggesting that he’s of noble birth as well and has many secrets. It’s been very interesting to tell the story of a Berber.”

While spirituality and culture play their parts in Bastard Executioner, the bloodiness of warfare figures prominently. Sapani, who wields a scimitar as Berber, revealed that the detailed battle sequences take a great deal longer to choreograph and shoot than the cuts that make it into the episodes.

“Some of the battle scenes that we’ve shot, particularly the one in the pilot, took about two or three days to choreograph and then about a week to shoot,” Sapani said.

Sapani further explained the nature of medieval battle, which saw soldiers face one another face-to-face and hand-to-hand. This type of warfare led to the invention of a number of creative weapons that find their way into Bastard Executioner.

“There’s broadswords obviously, there are scimitars, which is what the Moors use and there’s lots of daggers. Then you got things like balls on chains and with spikes,” Sapani said. “It was quite creative actually, and a lot of it, the weaponry, comes from – you probably know – the brutality of this crime and punishment and the use of torture, which is central to our story.”

Behind Bastard Executioner are Kurt Sutter and Katey Sagal, the husband-wife producer team behind the erstwhile Sons of Anarchy. According to Sapani, the two bring admirable professionalism to the set – from behind-the-scenes work to filming together.

“They’re both very professional and obviously both been working together for a long time. So, I think they have quite a good working relationship,” said Sapani. “What’s quite interesting as well is they’re actually working quite closely side by side in terms of the fact that they’re playing sort of a couple in the piece. I often wonder what it must be like for them really to do that, but they must have such a tight understanding of each other to be able to do that. I can’t imagine working with my wife. I admire them for that really.”

‘Penny Dreadful’

Sapani, in addition to Bastard Executioner, could be returning to the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful. For the show’s first two seasons, the British actor has starred as Sembene. In the season 2 finale, Sembene appears to be dead following a werewolf attack. But, Sapani hints that his character might not be gone forever.

“There is definitely a lot more to explore with Sembene in terms of his backstory and his own sort of dark secrets,” Sapani told uInterview. “It’s horror, people come back, people die and are resurrected, so you know that would be.”

The Bastard Executioner airs on FX Tuesdays at 10/9c.