Jason Salkey  is the best advertisement anyone could ever hope for concerning the Sharpe Series. Working tirelessly to answer questions, promote the series, its stars, its crew and telling tales that alternated between hilarious and miserable (as in the state of living conditions whilst shooting the early Sharpes in the Crimea) he gave a look into the much beloved series that can only be seen from an insider’s point of view. And you couldn’t find a more talented, charming performer to educate you on all things Sharpe.

For  the few of you who might be still unaware, Jason has made The Harris Video Diaries, a continuing set of behind the scenes videos of Sharpe begun during his second season and which will continue through his last days on the set of Sharpe portraying Rifleman Harris, the erudite and learned scholar who becomes a Rifleman serving under Richard Sharpe, (played by Sean Bean.)

Jason signed endless copies of his videos, his new audio CD of The Recollections of Rifleman Harris, which he narrates, and  signed cheeky, rugged and thoughtful photographs of himself and his fellow cast members. He also had the foresight to enlist his pal Daragh O’Malley to help autograph a few photos as well, as some of the other Chosen Men.

Everyone’s Favourite Chosen Man

Jason gave two talks during Historicon, one on Behind the Scenes of Sharpe  (At the Sharpe End) and the other a reading from the Recollections of Rifleman Harris (Reflections of a Rifleman). The talk about Sharpe was filled with nostalgic memories of what became a very bonded crew and cast during the first early difficult days of filming in the Crimea where the Soviet Union had just recently broken up. His talk was full of funny incidents, explanations when things didn’t go quite as expected and tales of selfless people willing to share their tent, their food, their music, their television during times of intense isolation from all the creature comforts most of us in the western World know today. Jason’s tales tell us that those who worked hard in front of the camera and behind the scenes are not only unique for their contributions to what will surely be known as a beloved series for many, many years to come but as participants that they have made as much of an impression on Sharpe as Sharpe has made on them.

On his second talk, Jason read excerpts from the book The Recollections of Rifleman Harris. For those who may not know, the book is a real life account of a soldier in the 95th Rifles during the Peninsular War.  Jason’s character in the Sharpe series is based on this book, since Harris did not appear in Bernard Cornwell’s novels before the TV series aired. The audience greatly enjoyed Jason’s presentation, including his various characterizations. 

Jason’s seminar and reading were a resounding success and received an enthusiastic response from the audience.  In addition to all his other Sharpe related personal appearances throughout the year, we are positive he’ll be in great demand on the lecture circuit from now on.

L to R,  Daragh O’Malley, Sean Bean, Jason Salkey

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