TV SERIES · 1993– · UK
Sharpe
24 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
24 Interesting Facts About Sharpe
Interesting Facts (15)
- #001
In his memoir, Brian Cox writes at length about the gruelling production of the first season. The British crew was filming in Crimea, dangerously close to the old Chernobyl nuclear plant, with Russian co-producers who cut costs at every opportunity and a director who was constantly drunk or hungover. Nearly all the cast and crew fell ill with giardia, a waterborne parasite that causes severe stomach cramps and diarrhoea, and were treated with an enema to clear it. Animals were regularly abused, including the use of trip wires to make horses fall. This lax approach to safety extended to the actors; while filming a battle scene for Sharpe's Eagle, an extra was accidentally stabbed, and the footage was reportedly used in the final cut. The shutdown that followed Paul McGann's forced departure involved replacing the director and hiring new stunt coordinators. Even so, the rest of the shoot was just as awful, leading Cox to swear he would never take the role again.
- #002
Brian Cox, who like much of the cast fell ill during the production of the first season, was horrified by the working conditions in Ukraine and refused to reprise the role of Major Hogan in later seasons. Rather than recast the part, as they did for Sir Arthur Wellesley, the writers invented a new Major for each subsequent season.
- #003
Hugh Fraser hated the prosthetic nose he had to wear to recreate Wellington's distinctive hooked appearance.
- #004
Tom Clegg, who replaced the original director in the first season, directed the entire series, which was unusual for a show spanning so many years. The final film, Sharpe's Peril, was his last directing job before his death in 2016.
- #005
Bernard Cornwell was so pleased with Pete Postlethwaite's portrayal of Obadiah Hakeswill in the first season that he acknowledged that his writing of the character in the prequel novels was much closer to the actor's performance than to his original version.
- #006
With the exceptions of Sharpe's Mission and Sharpe's Justice (and possibly Sharpe's Gold), every episode of the original run was adapted from Bernard Cornwell's novels, though Cornwell has acknowledged that Sharpe's Rifles and Sharpe's Battle were written at the request of the series' producers to give their screenwriters material to work with. The revival episodes Sharpe's Challenge and Sharpe's Peril use elements from a planned prequel trilogy set in India at the turn of the century but move it to after the Napoleonic Wars.
- #007
The weapon Sergeant Harper usually carries was the Nock volley gun, a seven-barrelled flintlock smoothbore firearm used by the British Royal Navy in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars; the idea was that all seven barrels would fire at once to sweep the decks of opposing ships or destroy their rigging, an adaptation of ship-to-ship combat. It was a failed design, because all seven barrels firing at once was too powerful for a single man, and it was eventually discontinued.
- #008
Sean Bean named Richard Sharpe as his favourite role: "He's a very complex character. He knows he's a good soldier, but because of his rough working-class upbringing he'll always have to struggle against the prejudices of the aristocratic officers. On the battlefield he's completely confident, but off it he's indecisive, a bit shy and restless."
- #009
The "Horse Guards" so often mentioned throughout the series was neither a horse nor a guard but a building. During the Napoleonic Wars it was used for the administrative duties of the British Army under the Secretary of State for War. It was also the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces and was unofficially the headquarters of the British Army.
- #010
Rifleman Harris did not appear in the books. The producers wanted a "clever one" and drew inspiration from a real soldier who was illiterate but dictated his own wartime memoirs, which were published.
- #011
Bernard Cornwell dedicated the book "Sharpe's Battle" to Sean Bean and said, "When I write Sharpe these days, I hear Sean's voice."
- #012
Rifleman Hagman is frequently seen singing or playing music. John Tams is also a folk musician and composer. He additionally co-wrote the musical score for the series.
- #013
Daragh O'Malley was the first actor cast.
- #014
Rifleman Cooper was meant to appear as a full-time Chosen Man and was originally to be a long-standing member of Sharpe's Chosen Men and, along with Harper, the last of Sharpe's Chosen Men to survive Waterloo. Plans changed when Michael Mears had a serious argument with the producers during the filming of Sharpe's Gold (1995) over the harsh working conditions. His role was replaced by a non-speaking part, Rifleman Moore.
- #015
Sean Bean and Brian Cox would later appear together in Troy (2004) and Pixels (2015).
Behind the Scenes (2)
- #016
David Troughton fell seriously ill during the filming of the first series. He attributed it to the working conditions in Crimea, which he found as disgusting as Brian Cox did, and refused to play Sir Arthur Wellesley again in later series, which led to Hugh Fraser taking over the role.
- #017
Sean Bean did not use a stunt double for the series.
Characters & Cast (3)
- #018
Paul McGann was originally cast as Sharpe. Two weeks into filming, he tore his cruciate ligament while playing football during a break, but because the injury was misdiagnosed he tried to carry on. The injury worsened to the point that, while filming a fight scene and a rock-climbing scene, McGann had no choice but to withdraw. When Sean Bean was brought in, much of the season had to be reshot. The planned third episode, based on Sharpe's Gold, was cancelled because the delays had cost them too much time.
- #019
In his book about the making of the series, Jason Salkey (Rifleman Harris) claims that his and other supporting actors' relationships with director Tom Clegg were often tense and even combative. Under great pressure to keep to a very tight schedule, Clegg showed little interest in developing the Chosen Men as characters or even giving them more screen time. At the wrap party for the third season, a drunk Clegg was reportedly heard admitting that if he had been involved in those decisions he would not have cast Salkey or many of the other actors. Daragh O'Malley took it upon himself to defend the cast as much as possible, especially given the dire filming conditions that allegedly led to at least one attempt to have him fired.
- #020
Contrary to some claims, Bernard Cornwell never objected to Sean Bean's casting because of his hair colour and considered him "perfect" for the role.
Deeper Meaning (4)
- #021
The Baker rifles used in the production were reproductions made by Military Heritage, a Canadian company that is the source for most period weapons. The reproductions were historically accurate but were not fired, as their touch holes (the small hole beside the flash pan through which the ignited powder in the pan fires the main charge in the barrel) were not drilled. The weapons were probably converted into realistically functioning props by drilling out the touch holes. Technically, the reproductions have unrifled barrels, so they could not function as real rifles. More recently, Pedersoli of Italy produced a fully functional copy of the Baker Rifle.
- #022
Most of the cast and crew suffered under the intense production pace, which was carried out in both scorching heat and freezing cold. They also had to contend with poor accommodation and unfamiliar local food, which often caused indigestion and heightened the homesickness many felt. Sean Bean managed to avoid the food problems by eating nothing but Fray Bentos canned pies.
- #023
Jason Salkey met his wife Natasha while working as a translator with the film crew in Ukraine. They are still married and have a son named Daniel.
- #024
Michael Mears is in fact a committed peace activist who wrote and performed a play about First World War conscientious objectors.
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work