Ask Antrius; Your Questions, Answered (Patreon)

You asked Antrius, and he answered! We sent your questions to Thomas Taufan, who plays our dazzling bard, and he has given you all the answers you seek! Read on to see what he had to say.

Q. Is there a bit of Antrius headcanon that you made that you are particularly proud of?

A. I think the idea that he’s actually super skilled and talented, but doesn't really tap into it because he’s not in the area of performance. Much like experiment 625 from Lilo and Stitch, I think he is more obsessed with performing whatever he wants, often not particularly well. I’d love for him to have to break this and see him at 100% in other skill areas.

Q. When approached about playing the dashing bard, Antrius, what were your thoughts and expectations on where 1FA might have gone?

A. Honestly I had no idea. I had been making videos with Deerstalker for a little while, and they seemed to either skyrocket or miss, so it made it hard to predict. I think that allowed me to be more of myself in the earlier episodes and perform without the expectation to succeed. I think by Ep 3 I think I knew we were backing a winner.

Q. On a scale of 'get these people away from me' to 'I'd quit my dayjob to do this 24/7/365 if I could' How fun do you rate being on this show?

A. I think I'd put it an 8 in favour of doing it 24/7/365! I have had some of the best experiences on this show and the people I have worked with are super skilled and talented. It does take a bit of a toll on my social battery, and there are always some problematic moments but this really helps me to grow

Q. What was the most outrageously funny moment on/off set so far?

A. It really is hard to narrow it down because there are a lot of wonderful moments on set. I think one thing that always gets me is that our 1st AD has been pushing this narrative of his,  titled “Poo Man”. Basically it's a guy who sneaks into peoples houses and shits on the floor. It gets brought up so often that the writer/director has a timer to find out the space between mentions.

Q. How much of yourself do you express through Antrius?

A. I like to think that Antrius is a tangential version of myself from a different time. He is definitely a lot more precious than I am, but for the most part a lot of the moments and skills demonstrated are really organic. I’d say a lot of me is expressed.

Q. Which episode has been your favourite so far?

A. Without a doubt the musical episode, purely for selfish reasons. It felt like I could tap into and demonstrate many aspects that I am passionate about, and redeem myself from past traumatic performances.

Q. How do you think Antrius might behave if confronted with a fellow bard that was better or worse than him at singing? Or more handsome? Or a female bard?

A. I think Antrius would be salty if he were upstaged, regardless of gender or appearance. It would be interesting to see him in an instance where a performer was worse than him, I think it would bring out a more nurturing side, perhaps an arrogant mentor type situation.

Q. Do you think the characters Antonio/Nicole/Eva are friends outside of the game? What is Antrius' opinion of his friends?

A. I’m not sure that they are friends, I think they are getting there though. What I always thought in my head was that they met at a local game store or something at an event and then wanted to continue playing their characters. I think Antrius is just happy to be outside.

Q. We know Antrius knows Vicious Mockery, but what other spells do you think Antrius would learn?

A. I think Antrius is a bit of a himbo and would end up choosing the spells with the cool names, but not particularly effective. Perhaps 'disguise self' so that he could fix his eye bags and blemishes.

Q. Please, how does Antrius/Thomas care for that glorious hair of his? Is it real?

A. It is very much real! But I fail to take care of it particularly well, maybe the drool from when it goes into my mouth when I sleep gives it it's shine.

Q. If Antrius was going to add another class and become a Multiclass-character, what class do you think he would be?

I have thought about the multiclass, and I think he would more than likely take points in ranger, so that he may perform weapon feats of inspiration! Very 'Robin Hood in an archery contest.'

Q. What was the source of the inspiration to create Antrius? How did you come up with the character? (I like how he is the typical bard but he has a mother and a father and he goes to visit them every weekend.)

A. I think the character naturally developed out of a lot of Elliot's writing that took place, along with early improvisation allowing him to be a little goofy and fun, that became more and more the regular. He also becomes a bit of a counterpoint to the other two characters, like in “ Tragic Backstories” he doesn't focus on self victimisation but rather celebrates his surroundings and what can be enjoyed. A bit like a Labrador.

Q. Do you cause as much mischief behind the scenes as Antrius does on screen?

A. I like to think of myself as a bit of an Anthony Mackey on set but I think a lot of the others would describe me as a problem. Being disruptive helps me get into character and that can definitely end in some on set issues. Agent of chaos.

Q. What do you think might be Antrius’ Bard college?

A. We have discussed this a little in production, and Antrius is actually College of Blades as far as we know. This is beginning to develop more and more in the show and hopefully allows for some fancy choreography in the future. Why is he college of blades? Antonio sucks at making meta characters that work.

Q. What side of Antrius would you most like to see explored in the future?

A. I think I would really like to explore combat effectiveness, along with a more emotional side, maybe not in a dramatic way but in the way that a performer has a different face at the fall of the curtain.

Q. Has Thomas been in any other acting positions? How long has he been singing and has he had training for it? Such a lovely voice.

A. Not really no, I have been singing casually since primary school choir but never trained. I used to listen to a lot of musicals and play a lot of scores in band especially Les Mis, I would spend a lot of time singing along to this when I was crafting. After my voice broke I had to sort of relearn and it has ended up how you hear it now.

Q. Was this show your introduction to DnD? If so, how was it explained to you? If not...I guess the same thing, how was DnD first explained to you?

A. DnD was back in about year 8 I believe, I went to what is probably the lamest thing, the Library Slumber Party. This is where I played my first character, I think it was a Dwarven Warrior. It became a weekend game and honestly it was a wonderful experience, I then went on to play MERP and Serenity.

Q. Though I'm sure you'd accept a broad spectrum of acting work, are there genres you feel more inclined towards, for whatever reason?

A. I would love to do something action, I really admire and respect stunt coordinators and choreographers and I’d love a chance to be pushed to my limits physically. Other than that I’m very happy in comedy but a dark comedy would be fun. Let me do Marvel basically, lol, 'Bardians of the Galaxy.'

Q. If you could pick one musical instrument to magically master overnight for Antrius to perform within the show, what would you pick (you get to keep the mastery off the show too!)?

A. I loooove fiddles and it is an instrument I cannot play in real life. Hearing a good reel and a jig can really set a lively mood, like in Tangled, or when I was prancing about the LARP feast hall.

Q. Where does Antrius' confidence come from?

A. It would be easy to say that it came from an inflated sense of worth, but I think it more comes from the desire to put on a good show. Much like a fighter needs to learn how to wield a sword and the drop of a hat, I think that a bard needs to be able to turn the mood in any situation. Also the power of an audience, It is so much easier to fire yourself up if you know that your spectacle is being enjoyed.

You can find Thomas on Instagram as @Forgeling
Featuring photos by Etienne Reynaud/@etphemera