A big thank you to Lorna Wanstall for inspiring this week's Friday video with her idea about casting our Tudor dream team or dream cast. I'm looking forward to reading your ideas!
Here are some actors and actresses who have played the Tudor monarchs. They're not exhaustive, just a few of them:
Henry VII
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- Jacob Collins-Levy
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- Luke Treadaway
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- Michael Marcus
Henry VIII
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- Eric Bana
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- Jonathan Rhys Meyers
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- Keith Michell
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- Damian Lewis
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- Ray Winstone
Edward VI
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- Warren Saire
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- Nicholas Lynhurst
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- Billy and Bobby Mauch
Lady Jane Grey
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- Helena Bonham Carter
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- Perdita Weeks
Mary I
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- Verina Greenlaw
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- Sarah Bolger
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- Nicola Pagett
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- Lily Lesser
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- Joanne Whalley
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- Jane Lapotaire
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- Daphne Slater
Elizabeth I
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- Cate Blanchett
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- Glenda Jackson
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- Helen Mirren
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- Margot Robbie
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- Miranda Richardson
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- Anne Marie Duff
Claire's Tudor dream team choice!
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- Henry VII – Hugh Jackman
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- Henry VIII – Michael Fassbender
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- Edward VI – Thomas Brodie Sangster
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- Lady Jane Grey – Emma Watson
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- Mary I – Sarah Bolger
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- Elizabeth I – Rose Leslie (and Kit Harington as Robert Dudley!)
Copy and paste this list into a comment and fill in your dream team choices! Remember, there are no rules, you can pick long-gone actors and actresses if you like.
Henry VII:
Henry VIII:
Edward VI:
Lady Jane Grey:
Mary I:
Elizabeth I:
Henry VII- Mark Rylance
Henry VIII Damien Lewis
Edward VI Tom Holland (from about 8yrs ago)
Mary I Sara Bolger
Elizabeth I Glenda Jackson
Queen Jane Grey Emma Watson (sorry Claire I’m not copying)
Ok, loved yours. Hugh Jack man can play them all as far as I’m concerned… But I chose Mark Rylance for Henry VII, especially for after Elizabeth of York’s death and how he ages dramatically. Think he would be perfect, especially that we aren’t going into other characters, like Cromwell. (I’m sorry, I broke my own cardinal rule, I don’t like to refer to real people as characters.
Anne Boleyn, I narrowly choose Genevieve Bujold over Natalie Dormer. Also, Perdita Weeks, I love her. I thought she was a great Mary Boleyn, although Charity Wakefield brought a playfulness to Mary (Wolf Hall), that I like.
Unfortunately, my list isn’t all that creative. I think its hard, seeing a multitude of actors in these roles, its hard to think of someone outside of that box. I’ve seen several Marys, and Sara Bolger can be the only one.
Thanks, this was fun! Michelle t
Oh, I like the Mark Rylance idea for Henry VII. Good choices, Michelle!
Quick trivia…Lily Lesser, who I didn’t like as Princess Mary, I hated the way she said “its bound to be lavishhhhh”, is the daughter of Anton Lesser, who (again I didn’t like) played Thomas More in the same show, Wolf Hall. She seems to be a rather busy actress of late…good for her…
Henry VII: Ralph Fiennes (He just seems like he could be a good Henry VII!)
Henry VIII: Damian Lewis (As much as I personally love Jon Rhys Meyers, i feel that Damian is such a great actor and pulled off this role perfectly in Wulfhall!)
Edward VI: a young Leo DeCaprio (He just seems like he would have been a really good fit!)
Lady Jane Grey: Dakota Fanning (I do also like Emma Watson for this role too!)
Mary I: Sarah Bolger (Yes I’m agreeing with you both, Claire and Michelle! As not only is she a great actress, but she really played this role very respectively, and I feel could also pull off an older Mary very well too!)
Elizabeth I: Cate Blanchett (Somewhat of a similar comment to Damian Lewis, in that Cate is just such a great actress and was just outstanding playing her, not only her look, but her demeanor too! And can’t beat her chemistry with Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley!)
Love your picks, Laurie!
I didn’t see Cate Blanchett in her Elizabeth movie (yeah, I know…), but can see how good she could be. I loved Jonathan Rhys Meyers, too. (We are watching Vikings, and we are a few episodes away from him starting in that show. I’ve not ever seen him in anything else, and I’m really excited to!).
Michelle t
Henry VII: James Maxwell, though
Henry VIII: It’s a tie between Robert Shaw and Keith Michell
Edward VI: a young John Hurt
Lady Jane Grey: A young Imelda Staunton
Mary I: Daphne Slater
Elizabeth I: Glenda Jackson, best Queen Bess ever. Only Judi Dench came close.
What? No Ann Boleyn on the list???
Thanks Michelle! I will definitely have to catch him in Vikings!
Charlton Heston. = Henry
Grace Kelly = Catherine of Aragon
Margaret Lockwood = Anne Boleyn.
Norma West = Jane Seymour.
Jodhi May = Anne of Cleves.
Morgane Polanski= Catherine Howard.
Margaret Tyzack = Catherine Parr.
Sheila White = Mary Tudor
Ian Abercrombie = Thomas Howard
Christopher Plummer = Thomas More.
Glenda Jackson = Elizabeth.
Mark Lester = Edward
Joss Ackland or Brian Blessed = Wolsey.
Wolfe Morris = Cromwell.
No one in my opinion has bettered Wolfe Morris portrayal of Cromwell. Wolfe’s facial expressions were brilliant and as strange as this will sound, did a lot of talking even when he had nothing to say. James Frain portrayal of Cromwell was good, but to me it still lacked something.
Glenda Jackson IS Elizabeth.
Love this, Lorna! Joss Acklund, LOVE. Trivia…he is still alive. He played the murder victim (well, he died…) in one of my favorite episodes of Midsomer Murders, and played the bad guy in one of my favorite, and creepiest, episodes of Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett series). Yes, Wolfe Morris, I think you’re right about his Cromwell, and about his facial expressions. I’m crazy about Mark Rylance, as to me he gave Cromwell a humanity I hadn’t seen before, just from facial expressions, and if I’m honest, his eyes. Norma West was in another favorite episode of Sherlock Holmes (the Brett series again), but she was a little older, and I can’t see her as Jane Seymour, so I appreciate the pick there. Christopher Plummer could play all of them as far as I’m concerned. And Glenda definitely is Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing. Michelle t
Michelle t – Agreed, Christopher Plummer as Cromwell would be perfect but as you said he could play all of them!
I didn’t know we really were going to make a list!! Yay!
Ok so many awsome choices, echoing Michelle, Claire,
Henry VII: Hugh Jackman, yes please Wolverine
Henry VIII: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Edward VI: Thomas Brody, loved him in Queen’s Gambit
Lady Jane Grey: Emma Thompson
Mary I: Sarah Bolger – Her curtsy alone
Elizabeth I: I would say Cate Blanchett but it has to be Rose Leslie because Claire upped the ante with Kit Harrington as Robert Dudley. Can you imagine the chemistry!
Anne Boleyn – Colleen Pribble