From the writers and creators of Netflix’s hit series The Witcher, comes a brand-new four-part prequel limited series The Witcher: Blood Origin. Based on the Witcher multiverse created by author Andrzej Sapkowski, showrunner Declan de Barra takes fans back to the beginning, over a thousand years prior to Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia, and before the cataclysmic “Conjunction of Spheres.”

Blood Origin unites an outcast group of 7 warriors on a quest against a mighty empire, set in an elven world long before they fell to ruin in The Witcher. The series stars Sophia Brown as Éile, Michelle Yeoh as Scian, Laurence O’Fuarain as Fjall, Minnie Driver as Seanchaí, Mirren Mack as Merwyn, Lenny Henry as Balor, Joey Batey reprising his role as Jaskier, and Jacob Collins-Levy as Eredin. It will chronicle events leading up to the joining of worlds, as well as the origins of the proto-Witcher.

Before The Witcher: Blood Origin hits Netflix on December 25, Collider’s own Steve Weintraub sat down with cast members Francesca Mills and Huw Novelli, who play Meldof and Brother Death, respectively. During their interview, they share what surprised them most about entering the vast world of The Witcher and what it was like working with the legendary Michelle Yeoh. They also reveal how they were first introduced to the Witcher universe and what they each took from set after production wrapped. You can watch the interview in the video above, or read the full transcript below.

COLLIDER: I’m not sure if you guys have ever done anything on this scale with this kind of action and everything that went on with this. So for both of you, what actually surprised you about making a show like this, or a limited series like this?

FRANCESCA MILLS: What surprised me? It’s the amount of people that are involved in– any TV series [there are] a lot of people involved, but in The Witcher world, the amount of people that are involved. It’s a big world to be a part of. And the attention to detail throughout, there’s no skipping corners with this. It’s the real deal and you’re working with the best of the best, and it was just a dream. It was just a complete dream.

HUW NOVELLI: And I think you are aware when you step onto a show like The Witcher, how big it is. But I don’t think any of us really understood the world that surrounds The Witcher, with the books and the games and the TV show. It’s a very passionate and loving fan base. And I think that was a real eye-opener for all of us, wasn’t it? Stepping onto something of this scale. It was great.

Image via Netflix

When you were looking at the scripts, and you’re seeing what you’re going to be doing, what was the day that you had circled on the calendar as like, “Oh my God, I cannot wait to film this?”

MILLS: Fight scene with Michelle Yeoh.

NOVELLI: The fight with Michelle. Definitely. When you get the script, and you look ahead, and you see that you’ve got a fight with Michelle Yeoh, that’s the one you circle and look forward to most I think. It was watching a legend at work, wasn’t it?

MILLS: It wasn’t even that I was in a scene with Michelle, it was that I-

NOVELLI: It was just that she was doing it.

MILLS: [I] got to be on set watching Michelle Yeoh fight. That was what it was. It was just a bonus that we were in that.

I was actually going to ask you about Michelle and getting to work with her because she’s a legend. She’s amazing. Nothing but positive things are going to come out of my mouth. What surprised you about working with her? Because she’s such an icon.

MILLS: I think when you work with legends you can go in like, “Huh…” And then immediately you’re just like, “Oh, it’s Michelle.” She’s just so normal and lovely, and so giving to the whole process, and a great leader for us all to follow.

NOVELLI: I also think for many of us, this was the first kind of thing of this scale we had done, but whereas Michelle has kind of been there and done it all. And so, she kind of took on the role as kind of the mummy or the auntie of the group and was just-

MILLS: Yeah. Showing us all the ropes.

NOVELLI: [She was] so giving and so calm with us. It was a real privilege.

Image via Netflix

I’m sure you didn’t take anything from set, because no one would steal anything. But hypothetically, did you borrow anything with every intention of bringing it back?

MILLS: I do have a Gwen in my bedroom. Nick Jeffries sorted me out with my own Gwen, which is awesome. And I’d be upset if I did have to say bye to Gwen. So it helped my grieving process on wrapping on the show, that I still see her every day.

NOVELLI: And I have my butcher’s cleavers in my living room.

When you actually got cast, how much had you seen The Witcher before? And how much did you feel like, “Okay, I got to watch it all. I got to play the game,” telling friends and family, “Listen, don’t bother me because I need to play the game all day today?”

NOVELLI: I played the game when I was younger. My brother is a big computer player and he used to buy me stuff for Christmas and I got The Witcher one Christmas. So I knew all about it from that, but you kind of-

MILLS: I was fresh. I was fresh into the world of The Witcher, which was awesome, but terrifying at the same time, because it was a slow trickle. Because the scripts come so confidential when you’re auditioning, that it took a while for me to realize that Witcher was what I was auditioning for, because it’s all code-

NOVELLI: I had no idea.

MILLS: -names and that sort of thing. So once I clicked on, I then was like, “Oh, wow.” So once I sent the tape off, I then got to enjoy the series with a pizza in hand and be like, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m entering this world.”

The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres exclusively on Netflix on December 25. Check back with Collider for more from the limited series. You can watch our interview with creators Lauren Hissrich and de Barra below: