Sleepy Hollow: 'I had no idea what was going on in season two' says John Noble

John Noble, who starred as Henry Parrish in Fox's Sleepy Hollow, said that even the cast weren't sure where the producers and scriptwriters were taking the show in its second season.

"Sleepy Hollow definitely struggled in the second season," Noble told IBTimes UK at MCM London Comic Con. "I thought the first season was fantastic, but with the second season, I really wondered what was going on. I used to spend a long time sitting around not doing anything."

Noble, who became a main character in season two, joins Orlando Jones and Katia Winter in exiting Sleepy Hollow, which has finally been renewed for a third season after rumours swept the internet that the show would be axed due to poor ratings.

"There's a new showrunner and they've got a very simple brief, which is to reboot the show, go back to concentrate on the Ichabod and Abbie thing, which was the strength in the beginning," he added. "I'm so hopeful it will come back, because it did lose its way."

As an actor who had a successful acting career in Australia until the age of 50 before being noticed by Hollywood when he played Denethor II in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Noble, who is 66, believes that it is now possible to continue to flourish in the acting industry into the golden years.

"You know how you can get depressed and think, 'Oh I've turned 40, my life is over,' – this has happened to all of us. I've been very lucky but I think it's a testament to not giving up. All of us can say, 'That's it I've had it, look at my face," but it's really an attitude thing," he said.

Maggie Gyllenhaal recently told The Wrap that she was considered too old at 37 to be cast in a film as the love interest opposite a 55-year-old man, adding fuel to the recent sexism storm that is raging the Hollywood industry.

"That attitude exists in the industry, but those actresses we love the most are in their 40s and 50s, with a very good crop of actresses in their 30s too," stressed Noble.

"There is longevity [in the movie industry] if you're a very good actor. If you've gone through your life thinking, 'I'll cruise through this because I'm beautiful and hot,' whether you're a man or woman, then it won't last."

Noble is currently starring in the sci-fi series Forever and is filming the voice of the Scarecrow in the new Batman: Arkham Knight video game.