Set 1200 years prior to the events of Netflix’s 2019 hit series The Witcher, showrunner Declan de Barra is taking fans back to a time when the elven world was in its golden era with The Witcher: Blood Origin. This four-part limited prequel series will explore all that transpires leading up to both the “Conjunction of Spheres,” and the first prototype Witcher within the extensive lore of author Andrzej Sapkowski’s multiverse of men, monsters, and elves.

Featuring a new cast of characters, Blood Origin will follow 7 warriors on a quest against a mighty empire as the elven world faces its coming demise. We know the series will see The Witcher’s Joey Batey reprising his role as the bard, Jaskier. Additionally, the series stars Michelle Yeoh as Scian, Minnie Driver as Seanchaí, Mirren Mack as Merwyn, Lenny Henry as Balor, Lizzie Annis as Zacaré, and Zack Wyatt as Syndril.

Ahead of the series’ Netflix premiere on December 25, Collider’s Steve Weintraub was able to sit down with The Witcher: Blood Origin cast members Sophia Brown, who plays Éile, and Laurence O’Fuarain, who plays Fjall. During their interview, they discuss the importance of having each other to rely on during filming, and all the exciting new elements this series will introduce Witcher fans to. They also share their experience working on set with Everything Everywhere All at Once star Michelle Yeoh. You can watch the interview in the video above, or read the full transcript below.

As far as I know, you’ve never done anything like this, being the lead or one of the leads, and with all this action and everything that went with it. So for both of you, what actually surprised you about making a series like this and doing action on this scale, et cetera?

LAURENCE O’FUARAIN: I suppose, myself and Sophia, literally we mirrored each other in so many ways, and it was great to have someone that was there that could really appreciate the gravity of what was happening to both of us and how much work we really had to put in.

What surprised me, I think once you’re in the doing of anything, and you’re really, really busy, it just becomes a machine and we just went through the motions. We just knew there was a mountain of work ahead of us and we really needed to just keep the pedal on the gas. I think we just really, really leaned on each other, which I was surprised about, in a way, that it was just great to have a castmate who became really sensitive, one of your best friends. She was there constantly. When one of us fell, we’d catch each other. One of us [was] having a bad day, we’d pick each other up, because it was an awful long shoot. And the days are really, really, really, really long.

SOPHIA BROWN: Yeah. Seconded.

O’FUARAIN: Yeah.

Image via Netflix

I know this is a little bit generic and I apologize, but what are you actually most excited for Witcher fans to see in the prequel?

BROWN: I think there’s an introduction to so many incredible characters, for one, and there’s just incredible landscapes to the initial Witcher universe that people haven’t seen that we get to establish. So those two things, it’s so rich in texture and body and heart and passion that I’m excited for them to just meet the world that we’ve created.

O’FUARAIN: Yeah. And I think there’s just so many things that can open up, as well. We have the “Conjunction of the Spheres,” and we have the first prototype Witcher in the show. We have all these new characters that no one’s met before. We have the Band of Seven. I think really people are going to gravitate toward the group of warriors that are traveling across the Continent. Yeah, I think it’s going to be a smash.

I normally don’t say this, but I’m curious, how much did you geek out with your first scenes with Michelle [Yeoh]? Because she’s f-ing awesome.

BROWN: She’s amazing. For me, I was really nervous that day because there’s a lot to live up to. I think up to that point, me and Laurence had both enough prep time together to really kind of share the nerves, but I didn’t know necessarily how to deal with that with Michelle until she completely demystified herself, and we were able to just play around with her. But it has and will always be an honor to have worked with her on this project and it was incredible.

O’FUARAIN: Ditto. I got you.

The Witcher: Blood Origin premieres exclusively on Netflix on December 25. For more, check out Collider’s interview with Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and Declan de Barra below.