Trivia / Sharpe

• Ability over Appearance:
  • Sharpe is played by 5'9" blond Yorkshireman Sean Bean whereas in the novels he's described as over six feet tall, dark haired and a Londoner. However Bean owned the role so thoroughly that Bernard Cornwell retconned the character as having spent a large part of his teenage years in Yorkshire to explain his accent. Paul McGann (who was originally cast as Sharpe) bears a closer physical resemblance to the character, although he's even shorter at 5'8".
  • Likewise, Harper of the books is described as mid-twenties, blonde and blue-eyed. Harper of the TV show is played by black-haired, mid-30's Daragh O'Malley. Though unlike Sharpe, the height is very accurate, with O'Malley being only an inch shorter than the books listed 6'4.
• Approval of God: Bernard Cornwell approved of the series and loved Sean Bean in the role so much that he retconned Sharpe in the novels to have the same accent and has said he imagines Sean's voice whenever he writes the character.
  • Cornwell was likewise delighted with Pete Postlethwaite's portrayal of Hakeswill in the first series, and admits his writing of the character in the prequel novels (Tiger onwards) was much closer to the actor's performance than his original version.
  • Cornwell also wrote in his short nonfiction book Sharpe's Story that Cecile Paoli's casting was spot-on, and exactly how he pictured Lucille when he wrote the character.
• Blooper:
  • In Sharpe's Eagle, as Sir Henry says "The South Essex will advance slowly and with caution, Major Lennox!" Hogan's costume changes from a blue jacket to a white one.
  • In Sharpe's Siege in a scene where a bunch of dead French soldiers are lying in a pile one of the “dead” extras very noticeably blinks on camera.
  • In Sharpe's Battle, during the scene where Sharpe and his men are first attacked by Loup's brigade, a shot of grey-wearing soldiers advancing and being cut down by the Chosen Men's rifle fire also features a man in jeans and a t-shirt watching the action...
• California Doubling: The series was mostly filmed in Ukraine and later Turkey, owing to the cheapness of labour there, despite being set mostly in Spain and Portugal (early episodes) and France (later episodes).
• The Cast Showoff: Chosen Man Hagman is often seen singing or playing music. John Tams who plays Hagman is also a folk musician and composer. He also co-authored music score for the series.
• Creator Backlash: Hugh Fraser hated the prosthetic nose he had to wear to recreate Wellington's distinct beaky appearance.
• Creator's Favourite Episode: Bernard Cornwell named Sharpe's Siege as his personal favourite book in the series.
• Creator's Favourite: Sean Bean named Richard Sharpe as his favourite role. His ongoing appreciation of Napoleonic Wars history has even led to him narrating a two-part documentary miniseries about the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo in 2015:
  He's a very complex character. He knows that he's a good soldier, but he will always have to fight the prejudice of aristocratic officers because of his rough working-class upbringing. On the battlefield, he's full of confidence - but off it, he is unsure, a bit shy and ill at ease.
• Fake Brit: The American Alexis Denisof as Lord John Rossendale.
• Fake Nationality: The British Oliver Cotton as the French Brigadier General Guy Loup.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Michael Mears, who plays Chosen Man Cooper in several of the films, is actually a dedicated peace activist who has written and performed a play about WWI conscientious objectors.
• No Budget: The series was rather infamously filmed on the cheap, making epic battles like Waterloo look like minor skirmishes.
• No Stunt Double: Sean Bean didn't use a stunt double for the series.
  • He was nearly very seriously injured during Sharpe's Regiment when a horse stepped on him. The incident actually was added into the film.
• The Other Darrin: Wellesley was first played by David Troughton, who departed after Sharpe's Eagle due to poor health. Wellesley's elevation to the peerage not only changes his name to Wellington, but his actor to Hugh Fraser (the one who played Captain Hastings from Poirot).
• The Other Marty: Paul McGann was originally cast as Richard Sharpe, but he broke his leg while playing football only a few days into the shooting of Sharpe's Rifles. Sean Bean was recast in the role and... well, you know the rest.
• Real Song Theme Tune: The series uses an extended version the traditional British military song "Over the Hills and Far Away", using the lyrics from George Farquah's 1706 play The Recruiting Officer. Although written during the War of Spanish Succession, they are fortuitously fitting for Sharpe's career, which also took him "to Flanders, Portugal and Spain" (although Waterloo is in Brabant, which is fairly close to Flanders, Sharpe's first battle ever, as a private in the 33rd, was actually in Flanders - Boxtel 1794).
• Romance on the Set:
  • Sean Bean met his third wife Abigail Cruttenden on the set. She played his second wife who eventually cheated on him and stole all his money. The marriage lasted three years.
  • Scott Cleverdon (Harry Price) and Assumpta Serna (Teresa) met while filming Sharpe's Company and married the same year. They are still married.
  • Jason Salkey (Rifleman Harris) met his wife Natasha while she worked as a translator for the film crew in Ukraine. They are still married and have a son, Daniel.
• Sequel Gap: Sharpe's Assassin (2021) begins on the day following Sharpe's Waterloo (1990), and was the first Sharpe book published in 14 years.
• Star-Making Role: For Sean Bean.
• Throw It In!: The part where Sharpe and La Marquesa fall off the horse in Sharpe's Honour was unscripted, but the director, Tom Clegg, liked it and kept it in.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Cooper was supposed to have appeared as a full-time Chosen Man and was originally going to be a long living member of Sharpe's Chosen Men, presumably to feature in either Sharpe's Mission or Sharpe's Waterloo. He was to have been and would have been the last of Sharpe's Chosen Men along with Harper to survive Waterloo, but plans changed when Michael Mears had a serious dispute with producers during his last episode, Sharpe's Gold over the harsh working conditions. His role was replaced with Richard Rutherford-Moore playing as Rifleman Moore, a new Chosen Man, whom had no dialogue.
  • In the TV series, Paul McGann was initially cast as Sharpe, only to break his leg in the early days of filming, leading to Bean being cast.
• Writer Revolt: An editor told Bernard Cornwell to change a scene where an Ensign died likely because ensigns are frequently young boys or men in their mid to late teens. He resented being told how to write, so he changed it to be more depressing. And in a number of the books since, Cornwell has killed off Ensigns in increasingly worse ways.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Cornwell does plan his novels in advance, but has admitted to changing them up midway through because he thinks it reads better. An example - Frederickson was supposed to marry Lucille in Sharpe's Revenge.
• You Look Familiar: Julian Fellowes appeared in Sharpe's Rifles as Major Dunnet and later appeared in Sharpe's Regiment as the Prince Regent.

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