Jack Patten’s path to leading Robin Hood wasn’t a straight shot through Sherwood Forest. Before stepping into the boots of one of literature’s most notable outlaws, the Australian actor was chasing a very different dream — one of football glory in the AFL.
However, an injury sidelined Patten, catapulting him to another career path—and audiences will get to see that play out in MGM+’s new 10-part series premiering this week on the streaming service.
Part of what drew the actor to his first leading role was the human-driven story behind the bow-wielding figure, and it’s that same ideology that also helps set the show apart. To chat more about his experience, Patten sat down with Metro to dive a little deeper into ‘Robin Hood’ and what audiences can expect from this fresh look at the popular figure.
Well, I played sport growing up in the AFL, which is sort of Australia's main sport, if you will. I stopped playing when I was 19— I was injured and had the realization that it's not going to be a professional path for me. I stopped playing entirely and was really lost, I think I put all my eggs in one basket. I thought that I would play professionally one day, and then when that wasn't working out, I didn't have a goal or a sense of purpose. It took me a good four years, [but] I'd always loved movies and I'd always liked art. I was very much drawn to it.
[Acting] started to come to the forefront of my mind when I had spare time on my hands. I would end up just going to the movies and be keen on reading stuff about film or art. Then, when I sat next to this guy in the staff room at my old job, PJ, who had quite a bit of experience in the industry, we were talking a lot and [he] encouraged me to go to an acting class. And it was immediate. I went to the class and I was like, oh, this is 100-percent the thing for me. This actually feels better than playing AFL. I didn't think I would find that again. I auditioned for NIDA (the National Institute of Dramatic Art), and got in, and graduated at the end of 2023 and that was just an unbelievable experience.
As far as ‘Robin Hood’ goes, I read the pilot and thought wow, this is so human. I didn't really associate Robin Hood with this sort of a script. It was so grounded. And I mean, I'm starting out, so I really just want to get my reps in and accept any project—but this, I would've gone well out of my way to be part of this. So to have been given the opportunity, it's really surreal.
Everyone sort of knows Robin Hood even if they haven't seen the show or read the books—and that was me. I knew about the Fox and I knew about the feather cap and the green tights. I always loved the saying ‘steal from the rich and give to the poor.’ That always really rang true to me.
What I did see on the page [with this script] was a young 20-something-year-old guy doing his best and trying to get through life. I see a character who's putting a lot of effort in. And that's, I don't know, really appealing to me. He's driven. It just felt somewhat familiar, but as I said before, really human. And that's not just with Rob either. I saw a lot of these characters with such a worldly quality to them. You want to be part of something like that... I do, anyway.
When I got the role, I said to Jonathan [English], mate, I'd love to get over to Serbia as quickly as possible if you can. I've always backed myself physically because I’ve always come from that background, so I really wanted to hone in on that skill and show the audience that it's me shooting so it doesn't take them out of it. I think that's really important. I was lucky that I had stunt guys who were putting up with my demanding hours of wanting to practice, but that was important to me. It's a big part of the character.
I tried to get a headset and watch because it's very sort of separated if you are one part of the Outlaws. We're on location every day, and then with Marian (Lauren McQueen), Priscilla (Lydia Peckham), Sheriff (Sean Bean) and Queen Eleanor (Connie Nielson), there's just two worlds. So I was always so curious as to how things were playing out in the more indoor setting. But I think I'm curious to it all. They sent us the episodes every couple of weeks and I would read the whole episode and you're just noting—oh, that's going to be really interesting, or that's going to be really cool. And it's because of that, those characters. There's a psychological depth to the story, and that's because of the characters and their wants and needs and what they believe in.
I filmed 'War Machine' before this, and for 'War Machine', we were on location. So this was the first time I'd seen these huge, medieval sets—that was another thing that was just pretty bonkers. In the best way, it's like a team environment, and it was the same on ‘War Machine.’ We're only as strong as what we are when we're one unit, and that goes for costume and makeup and the crew and us and directors. That's how I like to work. I like to feel the sense of community and the sense of all working towards the common goal. And that was super present from day one, right up until the 1st of August, when we wrapped. So to me... it's all about your team and about your people.
'Robin Hood' premieres Sunday, Nov. 2, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on MGM+
