John Abineri’s television acting career has spanned many genres and countless rôles. Perhaps his most famous part was that of an American Indian in the BBC’s early Seventies adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans. Whilst being fond of the part, Abineri did find it led to many producers and directors pigeon-holing him as a token foreign character actor. Eager to dispel this, John Abineri has occasionally dipped into the worlds of tele-fantasy, most frequently in Doctor Who. […]
“I don’t know how I got Herne the Hunter in Robin of Sherwood. Somebody presumably thought, after Last of the Mohicans that I looked good in forests! Perhaps it was because I used to be a member of the Ecology party! I’d worked a lot for HTV because I lived nearby.
“It was a smooth transition between Robins, and the two people involved are vastly different actors. Michael Praed I think is less-good an actor but is much more a ‘star’ — he had that quality and women were very affected by him — the forests used to be packed with young girls when we filmed. Jason Connery is much more of an actor, very good and dependable. Michael had difficulty doing straightforward acting as he showed in America in Dynasty, Jason has no ‘stariness’ but he’s just a good, solid actor.
“I’m not surprised that the series was so popular, it’s a lovely story, beautifully written and shot with aspects to it that no other Robin Hood had. It’s got mystical sides, oriental stuff and black magic — an interesting treatment of the subject. Richard Carpenter was strongly motivated to write such good drama, and the directors were excellent. Impeccable scripts and wonderful to perform in.”