It’s about the siege of Rochester Castle. I play a Templar Knight. The Knights Templar were really scary people.

They were kind of like al-Qaeda – they’re people utterly driven by faith who are incredibly violent and manage to justify that level of violence, murder and killing in the name of God.

You can’t reason with them, there is no negotiation – they are utterly certain in their own insanity. My character is a merciless man.

Another muddy, medieval epic to follow Solomon Kane…
Who could turn down Magnificent Seven in a castle? Magnificent Seven in a castle shot in the style of Saving Private Ryan.

Our camera operator did all of the Bourne movies so it’s that level of visceral camerawork. It’s a substantially violent film but if you’re going to do a film about one of the bloodiest, nastiest sieges that ever happened, then do it properly. Don’t give me a Robin Hood at teatime take on it.

Chopping off lots of heads, then?
Yes, I’m fighting with a massive, two-handed broadsword – we called it a Florence because you have to go with the flow of this sword.

Once you set it in motion you hold on to the back of it and guide it as it takes off limbs. They were fearsome weapons. I’ve got it at home. I’ve got all my swords I’m ashamed to say.

Do you have a special room for them?
No, they’re in an umbrella stand by my front door. I have yet to bring myself to actually hang them up with little plaques underneath saying what they’re all from.

What else have you kept?
I’ve got a couple of versions of my Solomon Kane hat. Mike got very fed up when I was doing riding sequences because the front of the hat flipped up and down.

So he demanded they make one entirely out of glass fibre. It was solid and weighed at least 10lbs, but it didn’t move when you were on a horse. That amuses people when I show it to them.