Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light: which actors are playing famous characters from history?

It’s been 10 years since Wolf Hall aired connected BBC 2, bringing the precocious Dame Hilary Mantel's imagining of the beingness and times of Thomas Cromwell to our screens.

Season 1 covered the archetypal 2 books successful Mantel’s doorstopper trilogy, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, and play 2 volition accommodate the last publication successful the series, The Mirror and the Light.

Many celebrated faces volition beryllium returning to play the characters that everyone knows from their schoolhouse lessons connected the Tudors. But immoderate parts person been recast to acceptable with actors schedules successful the intervening decade, portion immoderate caller characters volition beryllium joining the fray.

The BBC has decided to determination with the times and follow colourblind casting for the 2nd season, successful keeping with fashionable play dramas specified arsenic Netflix’s smash deed Bridgerton and Hulu cult favourite The Great. “There are a fig of parts played by radical of colour and this is not thing we did successful the archetypal series. I’m delighted we’ve been capable to bash it,” said Wolf Hall manager Peter Kosminsky. However, astir of the main formed look to inactive beryllium played by achromatic actors

Mantel gave the determination her blessing, saying “we person to instrumentality connected committee the caller thinking.” Sadly the Booker Prize-winning writer who died successful 2022, volition not beryllium present to spot the last enactment of her beloved Cromwell’s beingness turned into premier clip television.

Oscar-winner Mark Rylance returns arsenic Thomas Cromwell, the lawyer from humble beginnings who roseate to beryllium the close manus antheral of Henry VIII. “I was rather struck by [Cromwell] being a runaway astatine property 14 and idiosyncratic who learnt to past connected the street,” Rylance said of his quality successful a BBC interview. Mantel was fascinated by Cromwell, too. “It wasn’t that I wanted to rehabilitate him. I bash not tally a Priory session for the dead,” she wrote successful her 2012 memoir. “Rather, I was driven by almighty curiosity. If a villain, an absorbing villain, yes?”

Cromwell has surely go 1 of the villains by the clip The Mirror and the Light picks up successful 1536, aft the execution of Henry VIII’s 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn (played by Claire Foy). He has ascended to the tallness of his powerfulness and fortune, but his narration with the mariticidal monarch is nether strain. Spoiler alert – it’s not going to extremity good for the king’s main secretary. Cromwell was the designer of England’s interruption with the Church of Rome to let Henry to divorcement his archetypal wife, Catherine of Aragon, and wed Boleyn successful the archetypal place. By 1540 his galore enemies had yet caught up with him and Rylance’s Cromwell volition beryllium heading for his ain execution astatine Tower Hill.

Rylance scored a Bafta with Wolf Hall, volition the sequel adhd to his trophy postulation that helium keeps supra his tv set?

Damien Lewis will besides beryllium returning arsenic Henry VIII, the King possibly champion known for divorcing, beheading and different tormenting his six wives. But gone is the handsome, charismatic young King of the archetypal season, and successful its spot the gouty and irritable tyrant helium became.

“I americium greatly altered these past 10 years,” says Lewis’s Henry VIII successful the trailer for The Mirror and the Light. Luckily Lewis didn’t person to acquisition excessively extremist a carnal translation to reprise the role. Instead, the show’s costumers enactment him successful “a fabulous foam suit, which was really a blessing due to the fact that it was rather acold this time,” Lewis told Hello! magazine.

The histrion has said helium recovered playing arsenic nasty a quality arsenic King Henry VIII alternatively freeing. “There is simply a freedom, determination is thing therapeutic to beryllium capable to behave successful immoderate mode you want,” helium told the Radio Times. With his 2nd woman dormant connected his orders, Henry VIII goes connected to wed Jane Seymour that aforesaid year. After her decease successful 1537 helium remarries 3 years aboriginal to Anne of Cleves – connected Cromwell’s suggestion. Unhappy with the match, the 49-year-old king had the matrimony annulled and acceptable his sights connected the 17-year-old Catherine Howard. He joined her the aforesaid time that helium had Cromwell executed.

Kate Phillips is reprising her breakout relation arsenic Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s 3rd queen. She served arsenic Boleyn’s lady-in-waiting, but present her brag is dormant determination is small lasting successful the mode of her budding narration with the king.

In Mantel’s fiction, she implies that Cromwell himself has besides fallen for Seymour’s guiltless charms. Still, helium facilitates their marriage, which volition diagnostic successful The Mirror and the Light. Seymour besides has a tragic extremity successful store, dying 2 weeks aft the commencement of Henry VIII’s archetypal (legitimate) son.

The Duke of Norfolk is backmost again, but helium looks a spot antithetic this time. Bernard Hill played Anne Boleyn’s uncle – and Cardinal Wolsey’s force – successful Wolf Hall. Now Timothy Spall has been formed successful the role, and the Duke is improbable to beryllium thrilled astatine the relation Cromwell played successful the decease of his favourite niece.

Harriet Walter is joining the formed arsenic Lady Margaret Pole, 1 of the past surviving Plantagenets and a adjacent successful her ain right. She was 1 of the nobles who opposed the king’s attempts to divorcement Catherine of Aragon, truthful is connected the database of Cromwell’s enemies.

One of the cardinal events covered successful The Mirror and the Light is the Exeter Conspiracy, a crippled to overthrow Henry VIII for his interruption with the Catholic Church. The Poles are astatine the centre of the expected plot, and Cromwell has Lady Pole’s son, Geoffrey, arrested and interrogated astatine the Tower of London. His confession led the imprisonment of Lady Pole and her eventual execution.

It’s different recasting for the relation of Thomas Wriothesley, antecedently played by Joel MacCormack. Wriothesley has a large relation to play successful Cromwell’s downfall.

Despite having spent years successful his service, it’s the ambitious Wriothesley who betrays Cromwell by snitching to the king. He told Henry VIII that Cromwell had been indiscrete, suggesting that the annulment of his matrimony to Anne of Cleves was down to his inability to execute connected the matrimony night. It’s a snakey move, but 1 that allows Wriothesley to ingratiate himself with the monarch.

Lady Jane Rochford has besides been recast for the 2nd season. Jessica Raine, who played Boleyn’s sister-in-law, is presently starring successful The Devil’s Hour connected Prime other Peter Capaldi, truthful whitethorn not person been available. Lydia Leonard is much than up to velocity with the root material, however, having starred arsenic Boleyn successful the Royal Shakespeare Company’s signifier adaptation of Bringing Up the Bodies.

Lady Rochford inactive has a large relation to play successful the enactment covered successful The Mirror and the Light. Having testified that her husband, George Boleyn, slept with his ain sister the queen, she continues to beryllium a large sanction astatine the king’s tribunal and serves arsenic woman of the bedchamber to King Henry VIII’s adjacent 3 queens. She whitethorn person had Cromwell to thank, having written to him aft her damming testimony.

Amir El-Masry has been formed arsenic Thomas Wyatt, Cromwell’s writer protégé, formerly played by Jack Lowden. The casting of an Egyptian-British histrion successful the relation of a celebrated writer has been 1 of moves that has acceptable immoderate misguided columnists disconnected successful a huff.

At the commencement of Mantel’s novel, Cromwell saves Wyatt’s beingness by allowing him to attest against his friends. Wyatt was imprisoned successful the Tower of London on with Ann Boleyn and her friends, having perchance written immoderate amorous poesy astir her. The 2 stay close, and Wyatt attends Cromwell’s eventual execution.

Lady Mary, Henry VIII’s girl from his archetypal marriage, is different subordinate successful The Mirror and the Light. Lilit Lesser has been formed successful the relation – amusive fact, her begetter Anton Lesser played Thomas More successful Wolf Hall.

Cromwell has to get Lady Mary to instrumentality the Oath of Supremacy, denying the legitimacy of her parents national and denouncing the Pope. It’s thing that volition beryllium tricky arsenic she is her mother’s girl and a devout Catholic. But Cromwell’s securing her signing the oath grants him much favour with his master, Henry VIII.

Lady Bess Oughtred, sister to Jane Seymour, is played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers. Born Elizabeth Seymour, she’s joined disconnected astatine conscionable 13 and widowed by 1534. Cromwell favours her arsenic a imaginable lucifer for his ain son, Gregory, but successful Mantel’s telling there’s an embarrassing mix-up erstwhile Bess assumes that Cromwell intends to wed her himself.

Jonathan Pryce is backmost arsenic Cardinal Wolsey, Cromwell’s erstwhile mentor. By the clip The Mirror and the Light picks up, Wolsey is already six years dead. The Cardinal fell from grace for his nonaccomplishment to execute the annulment of King Henry VIII’s archetypal marriage, and was stripped of his bureau and palace. Pryce’s recasting suggests determination volition beryllium much flashbacks – and so helium gets a split-second quality successful the trailer.

Even though helium was a large instrumentality of the archetypal season, Pryce admitted adjacent helium was taken aback by the affirmative reception Wolf Hall got. “I thought it would beryllium well-received, but the level of the effect has been a daze to america all,” helium told the Liverpool Echo.

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light volition premiere connected BBC One and BBC iPlayer connected Sunday, November 10, 2024.