The Krulltimate Podcast

S01E03 - Interview with Graham McGrath pt 2

Joshua Krebs

In this episode of the Krulltimate Podcast, Professor Krebs engages in an in-depth conversation with actor Graham McGrath, who shares his experiences and favorite characters from the 1983 cult classic, 'Krull.' They delve into compelling fan theories, particularly about Ynyr and the Widow of the Web, and discuss the possible mythology of the Beast and its race. McGrath recounts memorable moments on the set, including working with a live tiger and the camaraderie among the cast and crew. The episode also touches on McGrath's current involvement in marine conservation, highlighting his impactful efforts with The Sea Life Trust.

Professor Krebs:

Switching gears into the mythos of the world and, and speaking from the point of, of Krull being a reality as opposed to a fiction other than Titch, what character's story, experience, origin, any of that, what is one or a few of your favorite characters and their origins and where they would go after the film?

Graham McGrath:

Well, that, that's a good question.

Professor Krebs:

Is it? It was phrased terribly.

Graham McGrath:

no, no. Not at all. I, I think, I think I get where you're coming from, Krebs. We've had I know, I know how brilliantly passionate you are about the story of Krull and, and the ideas you've had for how the story can, can progress, which I just think are phenomenal. So, in terms of what, what I think about characters that have resonated, I think the story of the Widow of the Web, Lyssa you know, that, that, that really cut through because you know, and Ynyr's history, you know, what, there's a, there's a big set of questions about what, what went on with them when they were younger. You know, there was, there's a story in itself. But it's that. lost love, if you like, the, the, the compassion that is able to be evoked that allows Ynyr to, to die with, with some assistance for, for the, you know, selflessly for the, the young Lyssa in the hands of the Beast. So there's something that, that stirs there in terms of how that then can connect and the fact that there's a prophecy, you know, it will be foretold and all of this kind of fascinating story with the Seer, the, the, you know, the Oracle, the beliefs, the prophecies, it's, it's something that in terms of storytelling, humans have connected with forever, you know. And yet there's something there to be explored to, as you say, to, to, to make that story real, to connect with, connect with the fiction to reality.

Professor Krebs:

I think you and I may have talked about this just privately off the air as it were, but I will share with you now in this moment a fan theory that I've held on to for years. The same friend that I sat down with and watched on the Blu ray, and we went frame by frame that friend's name is Connor. And one time he came to visit and we went out for something to eat and we were just, you know, jabbering about nonsense here and there. And then we started talking about Krull. And I can't even remember why we started talking about Krull. It was just, it was, it's just one thing we had in common. And we started talking about Krull a little bit. And there was this whole deep dive that started happening at different points in the movie. And we found all these really interesting story hooks. There are two distinct tragedies in the film, and they are both just highly compelling. One of them is Ynyr and the Widow of the Web. We came up with this theory that, given the way the prophecy is structured, that Ynyr and Lyssa of the Web were the original fulfillers of the prophecy. That they were in a position at a time in their youth where they could fulfill the prophecy. And a lot of people would be like, that doesn't even make sense. Well, it does if you realize that in some of the deeper mythos and some of the deeper notes on the film, it is explained that the Beast is not a singular creature. It's not"The Beast" in the sense that it's the only one that exists, right? It's rather, it's a, it's a member of a race of these species. And allegedly apparently according to the liner notes on the soundtrack CD, the Beast has come to Krull before, has tried to conquer Krull before and failed. And the people primarily responsible for driving off the Beast the first time were Ynyr's people. They don't talk about it very much. They don't go into great detail. It's just that Ynyr is from this line of people that drove the Beast off the first time. Then we came up with this concept of like, okay, so what if Ynyr and Lyssa of the Web were supposed to fulfill the prophecy. But the thing about prophecy, especially this particular one is that you can't just do it on one day at one time and then it's over. Rather it's an ongoing choice that you have to fulfill this role, especially if she is going to go on to be the queen of the planet along with her king and their child is going to go on to be the ruler of the galaxy. This is something that is not a one day thing. We know from their story that due to ambition and, and duty, that Ynyr was pulled away from Lyssa. And in her abandonment or her perceived abandonment, at the very least, she became rage filled and she did have a son. And she murdered him because her rage needed a victim. So there's this beautifully tragic story of how you can see Ynyr and Lyssa coming together much the same way that Colwyn and our Lyssa did, right? Except that they hit that pinnacle, they hit that point where they join and they become one for a time, but then temptation draws Ynyr away. It's interesting to me in Krull how quietly and subtly it is expressed that you don't have to defeat someone on a battlefield or destroy them or kill them to ruin them. And it can be done subtly by simply drawing people away from what matters most. All they have to do is lose their center and they're done. That same principle applies to the second tragedy, which is the tragedy of the Cyclops, but we'll talk about that another time.

Graham McGrath:

Beautiful observation, Krebs. I had a little shiver down my spine as you were sort of conveying that.

Professor Krebs:

Every time I watch Ynyr and Lyssa of the Web interact, I keep that little fan theory in the back of my mind, and it changes the color of everything.

Graham McGrath:

It's a great theory I'm going with it.

Professor Krebs:

Oh, heck yes. It's official. Grant McGrath has, has endorsed the Ynyr and Lyssa of the Web theory. Fantastic. One down and a whole cast left to go.

Graham McGrath:

What I find really interesting, Krebs, is that you asked me the characters and the storyline that sort of resonated with me. And then this happened, because we haven't spoken about that, you haven't asked me that question before when we've spoken. So, there's clearly, you know, that goes to sort of something deep in terms of the story and, and how it resonates.

Professor Krebs:

I know that from my own extremely limited experience in having done some acting and worked in a project here or there, oftentimes as an actor, the focus is on what are you bringing to the project in the moment? And then it's not until later when you're speaking with people who experience it from an external point of view that they start asking questions that I know I had never thought of. And have I gone back and thought about like characters that I've played and what their backstory is not really, no, not at all, but then, you know, I've also never met an obnoxiously obsessed fan with any of that content and then become friends with them and then had them ask me those questions. So, I suppose what I'm saying is I, I'm asking you questions that only weird little Krull trolls like myself care about. And it's understandable that someone as professional as you probably has not come across these thoughts before, because I don't know, you've probably had better things to do with your time.

Graham McGrath:

It's really, no, but it is interesting Krebs because it goes back to the iceberg principle, you know, it's about all the stuff that, that, you know, from a performance point of view, you, you go into and explore and, and, you know, then what, what comes to the surface. And, Actually, you're the kind of person that could ask really good questions to help character development, you know, and, and I know we're focusing on Krull and this is, you know, you're, you're super, you know super into the film in a huge way and, and you are an absolute aficionado. But they're great questions. Yeah. Yeah. It is weird, especially for me, 40 years later, you know, 40 odd years later, sort of thinking about that, but they're good questions because they kind of matter, you know, to, to, to what the output is. So, yeah, don't do yourself down.

Professor Krebs:

Well, thank you. I appreciate that. So for the people who don't know, the way that Graham and I became friends primarily against his will was that we got together... we got together to do a charity event around the 40th anniversary release of Krull, and it was based on the U. S. release date. If you can't tell by my accent, I'm an American, and the US release date just seemed like the right one for our purposes. Now, Graham and I started talking, and I told him about what date it was, and we were talking about how to, how to do the charity event. I wanted him to be on a zoom session with us, even though the time difference would have made that very challenging for him. Yet one more reflection of his generosity, mind you. And he, he was willing to do it, except July 29th is Graham McGrath's birthday, everybody. And he had some celebratory things to do, which I 100 percent supported. So instead, we did a pre recorded message. Graham, you were brilliant. You were generous. You were wonderful. I know I've told you that before. I'm going to tell you again, because it's still a fact. So yeah, July 29th is the release of both Graham McGrath into the world. And then 10, 10 years, 11 years later, 11 years later, the release of Krull in the US. That's just a little fun little tidbit of information, but going back 40 years in time. So now you're this you're this 10, 11 year old boy. I guess you were 11 at the point that it was released. And if I'm not mistaken, it was released in the US first, and then in the UK, and it was released in the UK. I suddenly can't remember the date. I think it was in December, though.

Graham McGrath:

I thought it was somebody else's birthday.

Professor Krebs:

I think. Oh, yes, it was somebody else's birthday. It might, it may it might have been my birthday actually.

Graham McGrath:

Yes. That's the weird

Professor Krebs:

Yes.

Graham McGrath:

going on here, Krebs, because

Professor Krebs:

Yes. That's right. I, well, okay. Okay. Here's the truth. I couldn't remember the exact date and I knew it was someone's birthday and I wanted it to be my birthday so bad that I didn't believe it was true. Hang on. And here I am on Wikipedia in this moment right now, trying to find what the, let's see, UK.

Graham McGrath:

you were born.

Professor Krebs:

When, when I was born, that's right. I want to, where's the, where's.

Graham McGrath:

When, when was I born, Wikipedia?

Professor Krebs:

Wikipedia, where is the Krebs fan page and where, where's, where's all that information? And just verifying it in the yes, December 27th, 1983. So yeah. This film was released in the UK on my fifth birthday,

Graham McGrath:

Ha ha ha ha!

Professor Krebs:

so you were 11 and I was five and now everybody has what they need in order to spoof our identity. It's perfect. I can't believe, I can't believe I forgot it was released on my birthday. It was like such a great

Graham McGrath:

have to verify that, but I have no doubt. I remember sending you the release, you know, little snippet from, from the screen,

Professor Krebs:

It was, it was one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me was to tell me that information. And and in the moment I wanted it so bad that I didn't believe it could be the case.

Graham McGrath:

You know, you contact me out of the blue about doing a charity thing for Krull in the U S and I find out that it was released on my birthday and then it turns out you find out that the UK release was on your birthday. I mean, that's pretty crazy.

Professor Krebs:

I feel like Peter Yates and the people at Columbia pictures knew what they were doing when they were trying to make two young nerds, very happy. I like, I like how I roped you into the nerd label, knowing that you're like 87 times cooler than I am.

Graham McGrath:

no, no, no, no. I'm, I'm quite happy to wear the nerd label.

Professor Krebs:

Always and forever. I also unabashedly wear it. Going back 40 some odd years, as I understand it, the reaction of the public to the film in the UK was different than the reaction In the US. Admittedly in the US, Krulll did fairly poorly to put it gently. In my own experiences, as I've interviewed people of various levels of fame and success, and I asked them what their stance is on the 1983 sci fi fantasy film Krull, I get essentially one of 3 responses. I either get I'm not sure I've ever seen that movie. Which tends to be the most common one. The second one is they hold it in rather negative regard. They'll say that they actually think it's cheese, it's camp, they, they just totally despise it. And by the way, they're wrong. And then third, you get those people who are like, I saw it and I loved it. And the impression that I've gotten is that that third group is typically in the minority. But I've been told by people in the know that in the UK, it was a different experience. Can you talk to your experience about the film's release at that time, particularly in the UK and what the public reaction was?

Graham McGrath:

Yes, I think with the release in the UK, you have to put it into context in that we had had Star Wars. So there was a, a new interest in this kind of new style of fantasy and, and space and other planets. And you know, we had Battlestar Galactica and Black Hole and all that sort of genre that, that followed on the back of it in a similar way that we had Legend and Willow and Krull and it, you know, in, in a different sort of area of, of storytelling, fantasy storytelling, sci fi. You know, and I could go on; NeverEnding Story and, you know, beautiful, beautiful stuff of its day, you know, pre CGI, mostly lots of amazing puppetry and clever special effects and in camera stuff. So, it lost the mainstream impact of being novel when it was released. But when you describe the three groups, it's interesting because the second group you mentioned that did know it and didn't like it, I have not come across. Now those people are either being incredibly polite and kind or, that's not really a group here. My experience is that people either don't know it, and then those that do, hold it in the highest esteem. It's almost like their thing, no, that's my film, I found it, I love it, people don't, don't get it. It, it's, it's kind of got this I guess cult following an underground following. And, and the people that, that do love it, really do absolutely love it. And so, and I put you in that second category, Krebs.

Professor Krebs:

Boy, I sure hope so.

Graham McGrath:

well,

Professor Krebs:

hope I've earned it.

Graham McGrath:

yeah. Otherwise, otherwise, why are we here? Right? But yeah, there's, it's really, it's really wonderful for me. It's quite humbling. You know, I feel incredibly grateful for all the things that I've been able to do in, in, in my life in, in terms of, of, acting and other things, you know, it's to be part of something that, even if it was only a handful of people, it's made a difference and brought joy and excitement to people's lives. Well, that's, that's a a position of, of honor and privilege to be grateful for.

Professor Krebs:

When you were on set and you're you, you have told me a few stories of what it was like being the youngest actor in the group and, and trying your best to be professional, but it's also, I mean, you're 10, so there's room for growth and learning. What were just a couple of like the biggest things you learned from that experience or some of the biggest, even just singular moments that you had on set while making Krull?

Graham McGrath:

One immediately comes to mind, Krebs, and that was when Kegan has been shot by a Slayer in the Black Fortress. I was witness to a wonderful sort of piece of directing and question asking by Liam to Peter Yates about the performance, where to pitch it, that, you know, this kind of moment of someone's last seconds in life. And that's the one thing that I think Peter really did. Not the one thing, but one of the, the, the key things that Peter brought to the film is that he really was. Treating it like he would anything else as in he wanted those characters to be real and true and to, for the, for there to be depth. He wasn't just treating it like a frivolous fantasy sci fi film. He he really evoked great performances out of the actors. So that really, that sticks in my mind when you just asked that question, Krebs. That's the first thing that came to mind. What else? I think the sense of trust that is sort of generally essential for best outcomes of you know, a cast and crew. And there's reference to, you know, Titch being part of the family now after the Seer dies. Spoiler alert. And it did, you know, it did feel like that, that everyone was there for each other because in the grand scheme of things, you're in difficult environments, it's quite physical, there's lots of physicality that goes on. You know, riding the horses was an absolute thrill, but it's... you know, it's, it really tests you physically. And the thing that, that bugged me the most when, when we were riding wasn't the, the, the riding itself, it was my staff that was sort of tied around my shoulder with effectively a bit of twine and that without bouncing up and down, it just really bugged me. And I was more worried about the end of it hitting our poor steed. So I was holding onto that to stop it bouncing on the, on the hind legs. And so it was that appreciation for, for the, the, the sort of the family support, the trust that exists within a group of people doing something that is not typical, because that's the one thing about making certainly sci fi fantasy films. It's so far removed from reality, well certainly our day to day reality, you need to sort of work together to bring it to life. To make it true.

Professor Krebs:

That's brilliant and beautifully well said. You and I have discussed this in the past. I think we've discussed this multiple times. But if I don't ask this question, I think most of the audience will be mad at me.

Graham McGrath:

Okay, I'm intrigued now.

Professor Krebs:

So tell me about the tiger.

Graham McGrath:

Ha ha ha!

Professor Krebs:

me.

Graham McGrath:

Of course!

Professor Krebs:

Can you tell us, tell us about the experience that you had at ten? a walking piece of red meat working with a tiger.

Graham McGrath:

It was quite something. Just as a sort of caveat at the top of this recount, I'm really pleased that things have changed since the time that we shot Krull. But this is, this was kind of fairly normalized at the time of the way, the way things were done because if only the technology that created Life of Pi was available then, can you imagine?

Professor Krebs:

my word.

Graham McGrath:

Can you imagine? Anyway, it didn't. And was actually taken to a a circus down in Sussex, I think it was one day to meet the tiger, because they were assessing whether it would be possible to for this tiger that, that was desensitized to humans because it was when there were still a few circuses around with, with animals whether it would be possible for a piece of prey to walk alongside this animal and there is that shot when we're walking along the corridor and Titch is talking to Ergo as the tiger. And luckily, I think I was up for anything. So I would have done it. But luckily, I think they realized that because I was so small that the tiger wouldn't respect my authority as a, trainer and that there was a big risk. So that particular scene was literally you can see that we never cross the middle of the screen, you know. It was shot in duplicate on a fixed, rostrum. So I acted to nothing and and then the tiger, in fact, the tiger was shot first. And I would watch a video playback of where the tiger walked, where it stopped, where it looked. And then, you know, try and recall that as I, as I walk past to, you know, make it look genuine, which I think it does. I think, you know, there's the simplest a special effect kind of came across well. However, after, after Ergo is actually, you know, clearly quite wounded and is bleeding out. And there's that scene with Tiger lying on my lap, his head, head on my lap, nine foot long animal, beautiful, beautiful creature. I was in a small caged set and the Panavision lens was just poking through a small aperture of this cage set. only other person within that space standing in the shadows just around the corner off camera was a man with a rifle. Just in case the short term tranquilizer, which was legitimately used for medical purposes, you know, if they needed to, to examine animals, but it was a short term tranquilizer. There was only sort of a few minutes of semi consciousness, I shall say, because the tiger was very much seeing me and, and, you know, breathing and, and everything. But he was there just in case that the anesthetic wore off. This is where you did feel the pressure, because they waited, the tiger was ready, right, in you go, okay, we're set. Start rolling. And then they, you know, Peter was just giving, this is happening now, the group, the fortress is shaking, and then they were throwing some dust and bits of things down and, you know, we, we shot as much as possible until somebody was saying,"That's it! You've got to get him out now. You've got to get him out." And, and and they cut. Derek Cracknell, first AD, I think was the one that literally grabbed my arm and yanked me through the door. They shut the door and then within, within 30 seconds to a minute, the tiger was awake again.

Professor Krebs:

Wow.

Graham McGrath:

Yeah, it's it's an experience that, I mean, I mean, you know, that, that outtake or behind the scenes stuff that, that was on the DVD, which my friend showed to me 20 years after, after the film was made. You know, there's me saying, Oh, it's just like a big, a big pussy cat. It was to me, you know, my, my, my nanny, my nanny pea grandmother adored tigers. She used to stitch tapestry rugs and have pictures of tigers all around her house. She just loved that animal. And I gave her a photograph of me with the tiger which came back to me when she passed away eventually. She was just thrilled and I, and I inherited from her that sense of love, you know, being kind to animals to, to, you know, recognize their own beauty. And, and for me being in that space, it was, again, it was just amazing. I was there with this tiger for goodness sake, it's remarkable. So it just felt very special to do. You know, when you step back with, with hindsight and you think, blimey, look at the risk risks they took back in the day. And you know, there are animal welfare questions that, that, you know, you can ask now quite rightly. Hence why, as I said at the beginning, I'm glad they don't do things that way anymore.

Professor Krebs:

Correct. I very much agree with you. I just to be clear on this point, when you said that there was a man off to the side, you know, out of camera shot with a rifle, I take that to mean that was not a tranquilizer rifle. Correct

Graham McGrath:

because the tranquilizer wouldn't take effect quickly enough.

Professor Krebs:

No. I, I always find it interesting. How often for the sake of of cinema or television or whatever the case may be often our entertainment paints in in a pattern certain things in life that just aren't real. One of them is, it is not the case when you hit someone with a tranquilizer dart, they just fall to the ground suddenly unconscious. One of my most despised tropes in cinema is someone gets injected with something. And then it's like they grab it and they're surprised and then the surprise turns into very sleepiness and then they're gone.

Graham McGrath:

Yeah,

Professor Krebs:

Doesn't happen. Right? Same same thing when you have a tiger. That sort of thing. It's like, no, that 10 year old is not safe. He's made entirely of, of, of meat. And then as we wrap things up here a little bit, when you were on set, a 10 year old boy working with all of these accomplished adults, were there any fast friendships formed? Were there any, you know, was, was there a closeness between, between you and any of the other actors, particularly those you had, you had a lot of work with, like David Batley, for example? Was there anyone that you became close with or was this primarily a professional experience?

Graham McGrath:

That's a good question. So I think there was a, as I, as I mentioned that family thing that, you know, earlier I was very much looked after by my company of cast. Bernard Bresslaw who played the Cyclops was, was brilliant. Came out to play walkie talkies with me one day in the grounds of Pinewood Studios when we were waiting for a setup and Todd Carty was very, you know, he was probably the youngest at the time. Not 20 or not quite 21. I'm not, I don't know exactly, but he was sort of quite big brother-ish which was great. And actually when we went to Italy, because my, the producers brought my parents and sister out with us as well for that period of time, we were shooting there he got on very well with, with my parents and actually when I met Todd again, many years later on the set of East Enders, which was a UK soap opera I had a short stint in that I wasn't working directly with him, but he was, I met him in, in the green room. And the first thing he said is,"Hi, Graham. How's your family?" It was like, you know, that genuine, lovely person That he was, it was a wonderful young man. So, so those things go on in terms of post production actually had a, a friendship built up mostly sort of initially from, from my parents with a chap called Ken Tuohy, who was the second AD. He used to drive me around from the dressing room block to, you know, along Goldfinger Avenue to 007 stage in a Volkswagen camper van with the doors slid locked open and pretending to, you know, do it in a stunt chase, it was probably going about five miles per hour. You know, it was, it was great fun. And he used to call me the scallywag as did the assistant director's crew. So it was Derek, Ken Andy and, and yeah, I was the scallywag. So there was a, you know, there was a lovely thing going on and actually, Many years later, Ken invited me to a premiere of a film that he'd made, he got made and funded. He sort of developed a project and it was based on a Spike Milligan piece of writing and, you know, you have those connections that prevail. There's something. That, you know, there's a theory that if you maintain a friendship for more than seven years, it doesn't matter how often you see people you will, you know, that friendship will, will continue in some way you're connected, you stay connected. So because with, with acting, especially, it's very transient, you come together, it's very intense, you're close with people. You have to build that trust. Especially in terms of characters, performers that are performing, you know, in relationships, you know, there's a huge amount of trust and bonding that has to occur. And then, then the production finishes, everyone moves on, goes in different directions. So it's very rare in my experience that you can genuinely maintain friendships. You can probably count on one hand the times that's happened, but they're friendships that have proper meaning. I can refer to, I'm not the kind of person that refers to friends as just people I know. Friends is something deeper than that. There's your, you, I consider a friend. Because that's what we've built together over the last, you know, 18 months or so. And I'm looking forward to when you're going to be in the UK later this year, you know, and we, we have some get to get to have some real time together. So yeah, so I've lost my thread now. And I think, I think I've answered the question, Krebs, I hope, I hope your viewers, what the hell is he talking about? He's rambling, all sorts of stuff.

Professor Krebs:

We refer to it as Grahambling. It's a wonderful moment in time where we just listen to Graham McGrath talk and it's wonderful.

Graham McGrath:

And, you know, by the time you hear this, it is my birthday. So give me a break.

Professor Krebs:

I know, right? To that point, are there friendships from Krull specifically that you still have in your life today?

Graham McGrath:

Well, I'd say I mean, if I was to work with Todd again, we'd pick up where we left off.

Professor Krebs:

I could see that.

Graham McGrath:

There's just a quality in him as a person, forget anything else that I really admired, you know, when you, and, and certainly really reinforced when I worked with him again many years later. And it's the kind of thing that I thought, I want to be like that, you know, when you see someone's Ethos and actions play out in such a positive way that's an inspiration. But no, it's not as I say, just because of locations and demands and, you know, even with, with friends that we're close with, really close with, you know, how hard it is to, to find the time to keep, to catch up. And I've never wanted to come across as one, you know, especially as I was young at the time, I'd never wanted to be, to come across as a kind of"hanger on" type person and be a pest, you know, be a nuisance to people. So I, I've, you know, I think that's why the friendships that I have developed with a few people on things that I've worked on are, are genuine rather than for any superficial associative benefits.

Professor Krebs:

Absolutely. So looking back on it, what was Krull to you and to your career as two separate things at the time that it came out in 83?

Graham McGrath:

What was Krull to me when it came out? I say, so for me personally, it was quite exciting to go to a premiere at the, you know, in Leicester Square, the Odeon in Leicester Square and, and well, you know, be in, I suppose the second time everybody was together again, right at the very end to, to watch the finished product and you know, have as I say, I didn't go back to school sort of, crowing or bragging about it, but, you know, friends had seen it and there was lots of great discussion. So it was just great to, to, to be part of that. From a career point of view, clearly, it was, it was a significant attribute to my growing portfolio. And certainly my agent who was really dedicated to furthering my, my career with the, with the right kind of work used it as, as you know, great examples of, what I could do. And so, yeah, from a career point of view, of course, it was. It was very helpful. And as I said to you before, Krebs, I've always been grateful for the work that I have done. My agent really did pay attention to to get me good work in great company of others. Because that's, that was the education. You mentioned the people in Krull. When I think about all the people that I've had the blessing of being on set with or on stage with and their caliber, I mean, how fortunate have I been, you know, to be able to work with those people because they've elevated my capability and standing. And so yeah, I remain eternally grateful.

Professor Krebs:

That's beautiful. And then the last couple of things I would end on are, do you currently possess any of the original props, materials, costuming from Krull?

Graham McGrath:

I have in a box in the attic and I really must dig it out because somebody else asked me this question recently some original scripts and call schedules some black and white. sort of press photos as they were, you know, 10 by eights, black and white shots. Just a few that were given to me. In fact, one of them is with all of the first of the, with the assistant director crew, me and my stand in Tim and they've all signed it. And to the scallywag. So I've got a few things like that. I haven't got I haven't, I don't have any props or I've got a t shirt that was issued to the cast and crew 82 as it was called. Just because that rhymed that probably might fit my son now. Who's six but certainly, yeah. I've got two of those that quite faded, but they're, they're preserved just as a, as a memory. And then a friend of mine, couple of years ago, bought me a a great fun little replica of a Glaive.

Professor Krebs:

I think you've shown that to me before.

Graham McGrath:

Yeah, I think I did. Yeah.

Professor Krebs:

Even though I could talk about Krull ad nauseam, you have had an incredible amount of life outside of Krull, and recently you have become involved in some incredibly important global efforts. Can you tell us a little bit about what you're involved with these days?

Graham McGrath:

Yeah. So I am fortunate enough to lead a marine conservation charity called The Sea Life Trust. And amongst the global conservation projects that we help support and fund, we basically have the world's first beluga whale sanctuary. So

Professor Krebs:

my gosh.

Graham McGrath:

as a result of the charity's parent company acquiring an attraction which had performing beluga whales and sea lions and other animals. But the principle that it always stood by was that it would not keep cetaceans in captivity for frivolous entertainment purposes. Similar things had happened when it had acquired theme parks with dolphins that they, they stood by their, their guns. And when it came to the belugas, it's like, right, now's our chance to, to, put our money where our mouths are and and do something that's never been done before. What's brilliant is that we're not alone. So just this past week, in fact Krebs, I was on a trip to Iceland where our sanctuary is with an amazing guy from the whale sanctuary project in Nova Scotia, Canada. He's developing a sanctuary there for orca, killer whales.

Professor Krebs:

Oh wow.

Graham McGrath:

And then another incredible leader in the field from Baltimore, who is developing a sanctuary for dolphins in Puerto Rico. And together, because we are helping each other with the expertise and the knowledge and the resources and, and the experts that, that know how to work with these animals, we're sort of forging ahead with, with creating a movement igniting others to come on board with us and, and help fund and, and create something for the future. Because we all believe that we can't continue to keep these incredibly intelligent social animals, especially with all the things that science keeps discovering about them. We can't keep them in concrete tanks. And so what's the, what, what, what are our options? What can we do? To give them the closest thing to wild freedom possible. So that's one of the, the big projects that my charity is, is involved with. We have another sanctuary in the UK, which rescues rehabilitates and releases injured seal pups sort of between 70 every year. And, we, as I said, as well, the main, the main sort of founding reason for the charity is about global conservation. So whether that's rescuing stranded turtles 3 different species across the US, we've just funded funded that 1 we do projects out of Florida, linking to other organizations for, for reef coral reef protection, similar things going on in, in Asia in, in in Thailand we've got rewilding of zebra sharks in Australia basically breeding and then rewilding the declining species in Indonesia. So there's all these kinds of things that are going on that you know, tiny pockets of, of stuff to try and try and do something to protect our world's oceans, you know, and restore some balance. So, you know, I feel lucky because I'm doing something that has that purpose and doing something is better than doing nothing. And together we can do so much more.

Professor Krebs:

That's incredible. And I do love it when you have people who have sort of migrated from the entertainment sphere where we get to indulge in fantasy and we get to be entertained as is the industry's purpose to something that's more tangible, more real and has real impact. And Graham, you've had real impact on the world and that is not a small thing to accomplish. So thank you for all that you're doing.

Graham McGrath:

It's very kind of you to say.

Professor Krebs:

Well. This has been yet another fantastic conversation that you and I have been able to have. I really appreciate you taking time for this show and for answering questions that I'm sure the fans will find very interesting. Don't worry. I am certain that I will leverage our friendship for something like this again in the future. Thank you so very much. You are fantastic. Graham, I appreciate you. Thanks for being on the show.

Graham McGrath:

Thank you, Krebs. See you next time.

Thank you so very much for listening to this episode of the Krulltimate Podcast. Now, I would like to hear from you. If you have any questions, curiosities, or comments that you would like to make about this or other episodes, you can send them to thekrulltimatefandom@gmail.com. Until next time I have been your host professor Krebs, and this is the Krulltimate Podcast.

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