it was really very enjoyable doing this, I have watched the scene several times but in this detail and seeing the written word I am struck by how the actors brought the lines to life, such outstanding performances...the interpretation the emphasis, the timing..just excellent
Hal’s Prequel Transcript
Hal
Leo, Leo, Leo, Leo…
In dog fights how many people have you killed?
The creature you become, how many people has HE killed?
The answer is five, hopefully 6, after tonight .. although the odds on you will start to shorten then, that's the problem with geese that lay golden eggs, soon the price of gold starts to drop and we can't have that
Leo
Why do you keep coming down here?
Hal
Do I?
You're the only person in this building who isn't frightened of me it's refreshing .. and intriguing, why aren't you scared ?
Leo
What's left for you to do to me?
Hal
You'd be surprised
Leo
[laughs] Death doesn't frighten me the way it frightens you
Hal
[laughs] I'm not frightened of death
Leo
All vampires are, it's why you spend so many years running from it
Hal
It's not what brought me down here. I was born in a brothel, I don't even know which of the six illiterate whores was my mother but when, one by one, each of them were lost to disease or violence, I mourned them, and they were my blood, I ran away to sea, ended up in Gdansk, fell into the Battle of Orsha, ended up on the wrong side of a Muscovite lance.. by the time I was a young man I'd seen every dark corner of the human heart, so when the army surgeon offered me eternal life in return for what little god had left me of my soul, I accepted, not because I feared death, but because I could think of nothing that deserved my loyalty any more.
I have been so many people since then, some kind, some cruel.. they take their turns to claw their way to the surface
Leo
Whose turn is it next, who's waiting in the wings ?
What do you want from me?!
Hal
[laughs] I don't want anything from you
Leo
You expect me to listen ?
Hal
Is that so much to ask ?
Leo
On top of kidnapping me, chaining me up in a cell and telling me to kill people, yes, listening to you is a lot to ask.
You come down here, like a bloody plantation owner and talk about times you have been kind. Why are you telling me this ? Do you want me to like you, do you want me to think you're better than the others ?
[laughs] You must have me mixed up with another werewolf you have chained up somewhere who gives a damn.
Hal
I want you to think that there's hope
Leo
Hope ? For what ?!
Hal
That I can be saved
Leo
What does it matter what I think
Hal
Well...
The other's will be here in a minute to take you upstairs
Leo
I won't kill again, whatever poor soul you have up there I'll run at them before I transform, fall on their knife.
I do not want to be you.
Hal
I should change my bet then
Leo
But I think you don't want to be you either..
Hal
Sometimes we don't have a choice
Leo
Then we are both in chains.
What is your name?
Hal
Hal
Leo
This is our last conversation, Hal
Hal
Even if the next cycle brings someone kind, it won't last .. ten years from now, thirty, fifty.. thIs man will return and he'll be even worse, he always is
Leo
What if I was with you to greet him, isn't that what this is about, you have been testing me, to see if I would make a good guide, to lead you into the light !
Hal
What's in it for you?
Leo
Noone dies, especially me.
See, I have plans, I want a big, fat, ordinary life, a little barber shop near the sea, with a room, so I can suffer my curse in safety.
I want to work all day, turn that sign to closed, and drink a beer
Hal
Sounds like a good life
[Noises outside the door]
Leo
This is the moment Hal, what you do now is going to change everything ... Here it comes
Thank you domino, you have been so incredibly helpful and kind :) It's truly wonderful, very theatrical, beautifully acted, even the light is perfect in it :)
I remember the very first time i watched this up on the Blog and because i hadn't heard of Damien, i was curious.
I came away very very impressed and wanting to know more about the character as well as the actor.
I've watched this prequel countless times (I watched it to get a sense of 'Lord Harry' for a fic i was writing at the time) and each time i watch it i notice something new. Damien is a huge talent, he is going to be massive. In the years to come, we'll be watching him and we'll say to each other 'remember when he was in Being Human?'.
Yeah, there is something very special about his acting..super impressive with the accent change as well. in this scene the two actors create a delicious tension and the dynamic shifts all the time... watching this retrospectively, this line seems particularly poignant:
"I have been so many people since then, some kind, some cruel.. they take their turns to claw their way to the surface"
and I can't help but wonder, what does the next cycle bring for Hal?
Gawd I love his character..there are some many levels and layers...within the character and in the mixture of feelings that arise for him.. Hal ....a victim of his condition ...or a monster..the duality pulls you in.
Lisa, you mention your fan fic, I would love to read it soemtime if ever you felt given to share some of it on the froum. it is an area we wnted to develp here. But no pressure!
I have no objections to sharing it. Just point me in the right direction and i'll post it up. To date i've written three Hal one shots, 'Lonely Boy', 'Unleashed' and 'The Kia Ora Incident', all three are up on fanfiction.net and my pen name is the same as my name here and on Twitter etc.
@Ms rubyrossettared wow....now I have to read it!!! Well, maybe if we get a lot of Damien related fan fic here one day we could begin a whole section for it! But for now, this section of the forum would be ideal, if it is Hal fanfic!!!
@Ziadada Damien creates the new accent for Hal as well, the posh upper class english accent, very different from his own...he does it so fluidly as part of 'Hal'..you would no know it was not his own accent... and that takes talent!
We will be talking about Hal's prequel in our Hal Chat this Sunday, most will have watched this countless times and it is available on the Being Human series 4 dvd / blu-ray, but just highlighting this topic again for anyone who has not seen it, especially our international members who do not have access to the dvd yet!
I actually think that Hal's Prequel is worth more than a lot of the filler scenes that actually featured in the show. And Damien's fantastic in it as well. There's a confidence to him that is just completely compelling.
Agree, it is a stunning piece Rougesang, though I cannot say there was a single moment in Being Human that felt less stunning! It is only right that a character so complex and as you say compelling as Hal should have such a prequel.
I cannot wait to find out what other glimpses into his past are is store for us on Series 5.
Bumping this extra scene from S4 for those fans that have missed out. This is absolutely a MUST SEE flashback. #Orsha #sixilliteratewhores #ivebeensomanypeople #youngleo #haldeciding
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papillon... pamplemousse... bibliothèque... un baiser A lilt in his voice. Every sentence like music... #kisskisskiss A terrible beauty is born. Love me some #Jacksass
I really find it quite hard to believe how sceptical I was the first time I saw this!
I wanted series 4 succeed so much - and I was thrilled that Tom was joining as a regular, because I'd loved him in s3 - but I really couldn't see how anyone was going to fill that huge Mitchell shaped hole! I'd already seen the series trailer - which had done nothing to dispel my fears.....and I desperately wanted reassurance that Hal was going to be as engaging as Mitchell had been. But this just left me feeling....bemused!
but here you go!
Please bare with me though, I am not the fastest typist in the world! 
