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Damian Lewis Spotted Enjoying a Pint While On Break From Filming Wolf Hall

A Royal Toast

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com  | January 16, 2024

Damian was spotted enjoying a pint with co-star Thomas Brodie-Sangster at The New Inn in West Coker, South Somerset last week while on break from filming Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light nearby.

The BBC drama recently returned to Montacute House, which has been closed to the public from Tuesday, January 2 through Friday, January 19, 2024 to allow camera crews to prepare some scenes for filming.  The 16th-century Elizabethan mansion and gardens is near Yeovil, which are owned by the National Trust. Motacute House is used to represent Greenwich Palace and its grand exterior makes for an stunning background for the drama’s key scenes. Both Damian (playing Henry VIII) and Thomas (playing Rafe Sadler) have been spotted at the stunning National Trust property as filming nears completion.

Source: Somerset Live

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Casting News

Casting Announcement

by Staff | PBS.org  | December 4, 2023

Harriet Walter and Timothy Spall

Masterpiece PBS and the BBC have announced the remaining casting for Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, based on the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s multi award-winning trilogy. As previously announced, Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Jonathan Pryce, Kate Phillips and Lilit Lesser will all return for the six-part series, now filming across England and Wales.

Announced today, Harriet Walter (Killing Eve, Succession) joins the cast to play Lady Margaret Pole, with Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, Spencer) as the Duke of Norfolk.

Continue reading ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Casting News

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

‘Wolf Hall’ Sequel With Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance Sets Production Start for PBS, BBC

The Final Novel in Hilary Mantel’s Historical Trilogy

by Rick Porter | Hollywood Reporter | November 20, 2023

UPDATE 11/27/23: According to the Daily Mail, some initial filming took place Saturday, November 25, 2023 in Bristol. Filming on location photos can be viewed in our Gallery here.

After eight years, PBS is making a return to Wolf Hall. The public broadcaster will air a sequel to its Emmy-nominated miniseries, with Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis reprising their roles as Thomas Cromwell and English King Henry VIII. The series, based on the final book in author Hilary Mantel‘s trilogy, The Mirror and the Light, is scheduled to begin production soon. It will air under PBS’ Masterpiece banner in the United States and on the BBC in the U.K. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light currently has no release date.

The new season follows Thomas Cromwell as he navigates the aftermath of Anne Boleyn’s execution, facing moral dilemmas and multiple enemies. Cromwell somehow manages to escape the bloodshed unscathed. Although he can continue amassing power and influence, the whole display assures that nobody is truly safe in the King’s court. Cromwell is in particular trouble with no powerful family behind him and only the wits that got him there. The season will follow the moral dilemmas he faces as he tries to keep his head on his shoulders while still trying to do the right thing and steer England toward the future. Unfortunately for him, things are even more complicated than that with rebellion within the country’s borders, traitors abroad, and an invasion on the horizon. All the while, Cromwell’s fortunes are running out as he’s earned no small number of enemies who wish to see his demise.

Continue reading ‘Wolf Hall’ Sequel With Damian Lewis, Mark Rylance Sets Production Start for PBS, BBC

Categories Poll Print Media Wolf Hall

The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Books

Wolf Hall: A Marvel of Elegance and Emotion

by Staff | TVLine | March 30, 2023

What do these titles all have in common other than being highly-rated, successful shows? They and many more shows were adapted from bestselling novels within the last decade. Whether you love them or hate them, book-to-TV adaptations are here to stay. The TVLine team felt it was perfect to conjure up a list of the top TV programs based on books. We have rounded up 20 of the best shows from the last decade that were adapted from books:

Continue reading The 20 Best TV Shows Based on Books

Categories memory lane Video Wolf Hall

In Loving Memory of Dame Hilary Mantel

Beloved Author

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | September 23, 2022

We join readers around the world in mourning the loss of Author, Dame Hilary Mantel. We are grateful for her magnificent body of work and the award-winning historical fiction novels including, but not limited to, Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light. Without her words, her vision, Damian’s portrayal of Henry VIII would not be a critical hit as the regal King.

Damian shared this tribute:

Continue reading In Loving Memory of Dame Hilary Mantel

Categories Fan Sightings Personal and Family Life Wolf Hall

Damian Lewis Attends Mark Rylance Play

When Henry Visited Thomas

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | August 30, 2022

Well look what we have here – a mini Wolf Hall reunion perhaps? On August 3, 2022 Damian was spotted in the audience of the play Jerusalem starring Mark Rylance.

Jerusalem, a play by Jez Butterworth, returned to the Apollo in the West End in London from April 16 until August 6, 2022 and it seems Damian saw the production just in the nick of time. Surely Damian chatted up his old pal backstage. What could those two possibly be discussing? We can only hope Wolf Hall was a topic of conversation!

Continue reading Damian Lewis Attends Mark Rylance Play

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

Underrated British TV Shows You Need To Watch

Wolf Hall

by Richard Chachowski | Looper | July 20, 2022

On the surface, one might immediately think that British television is very similar to any American TV program you can find on cable or currently streaming. However, as anyone who’s seen a decent amount of British and American series can tell you, the two couldn’t be further apart.

Known for their strong surrealistic elements, dry wit, and dramatically small number of episodes compared to American TV series, British TV shows are practically a genre unto themselves. Whether they encompass historical dramas, absurdist comedies, or sitcoms set in World War II, you know without question when you’re tuning into a TV show from across the pond, judging from its sense of humor and content alone.

Continue reading Underrated British TV Shows You Need To Watch

Categories Fashion and Style Print Media Wolf Hall

Bulging Codpieces and Multi-Colored Tights

Renaissance Men’s Fashion Today

by Maria H. Loh | Art News | June 29, 2022

Certain men’s fashions have always been controversial. In 2014, Mark Rylance, a star of the BBC’s popular sixteenth-century TV drama Wolf Hall, told reporters that he thought “the codpieces are too small.” The actor, who played chief minister Thomas Cromwell, protagonist of the Hilary Mantel best seller on which the series was based, speculated that the sartorial edit was perhaps a directive from the show’s American producers, who feared that historically accurate codpieces might shock their transatlantic viewers. Indeed, if you look at any number of Renaissance portraits of Henry VIII, you might be immediately taken aback by the elaborate mound of shimmering white silk that bursts forth and rises up conspicuously between the king’s legs. Damian Lewis, who had the monarch’s role in the show, explained to the Los Angeles Times that these unusual attachments were,

“… a symbol of your virility, your derring-do, your sense of adventure. They were encouraged, it was a fashion, and Henry liked them.”

Continue reading Bulging Codpieces and Multi-Colored Tights

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

5 Tempting Tudor Dramas to Watch Right Now

Wolf Hall: Happy Birthday Henry VIII

by Katy Kostakis | Paste Magazine | June 29, 2022

Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. Gloriana. The Virgin Queen. Bloody Mary.

Just reading those words can instantly bring your mind to one of the most famous, scandalous, and formidable families to ever rule a nation. The powerful Tudor dynasty has long mesmerized and enthralled all who have come across their stories during history lessons. From the king who nabbed his crown against the odds to a long-awaited male heir who didn’t live past the age of 15, to the queen who defied all expectations and ruled for 45 years, their collective reign over England from 1485 to 1603 was chock full of warfare, religious reform, and treachery at a time where fealty, obedience, and adhering to the tenets of one’s social station literally meant life or death.

Continue reading 5 Tempting Tudor Dramas to Watch Right Now

Categories Poll Print Media

39 Celebs Who You Probably Completely Forget or Don’t Know Are NOT American

Until You Hear Them Talk in Real Life

by Lauren Yapalater | BuzzFeed | April 3, 2022

These actors are good at acting.

28. Damian Lewis

Damian Lewis from Billions is from England. Listen to his real accent here:

Continue reading 39 Celebs Who You Probably Completely Forget or Don’t Know Are NOT American

Categories Poll Print Media Wolf Hall

25 Best Movies and TV Shows About English Royalty

Certified Royal Drama – Wolf Hall

by Devon Forward | Collider | November 13, 2021

For the days when you just want to watch some certified royal drama. Sometimes real life is even better than fictional drama, which is why so many television shows and movies are based around historical events. Take England, for example. You can’t honestly claim that you’ve never been fascinated by something that’s happened to a king or queen of the country’s past or present, right? Everyone loves to hear about the strong-willed Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry VIII and his six wives, the elegant current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, and any number of interesting English royals. Luckily, Hollywood feels the same way, and movies and television shows based on stories about English royalty have been made for decades now, with more coming out each year. But which ones are the best?

WOLF HALL

An earlier appearance by Claire Foy as an English royal, this time around she goes back a bit farther into the past to play Anne Boleyn opposite Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall. Sure, the story of King Henry VIII’s deadly reign and six wives is well-known, but there’s a reason for that, as his story is one of the most intense and memorable throughout royal history. But what makes this series a bit more unique is that it really focuses on the historical figure of Thomas Cromwell, played by Mark Rylance, a manipulative, charming man who uses his close relationship with King Henry VIII to gain more power for himself. With a target on Anne, attempting to get King Henry VIII away from her influence, Cromwell plays a risky game that might not end in his favor (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t).

Read the rest of the original article at Collider

Categories Print Media Wolf Hall

Hilary Mantel Hopeful Damian and Mark Rylance Will Return to Their Wolf Hall Roles

Henry and Cromwell

by Rebecca Jones | BBC News | May 20, 2021

Dame Hilary, 68, is a shrewd observer of political drama that spans the ages. “I think what my books have tried to show is that there is no life without politics,” she says.

She has been immersed in Tudor politics for more than 15 years, working on her Wolf Hall trilogy of historical novels about the plots and intrigues at the court of King Henry VIII and the rise and fall of his chief adviser Thomas Cromwell.

Dame Hilary has spent the past year writing the play of The Mirror and the Light herself. She says she wanted to “give it a go”.

But, perhaps surprisingly for a writer of 14 works of fiction and a memoir, she was not sure she could do it on her own.

“Although I’d written plays for radio… I’ve not written a whole stage play by myself. I felt my inexperience,” she admits. “I thought, ‘I need a collaborator.'”

Ben Miles, who starred as Cromwell in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring up the Bodies, suggested himself as “co-pilot” on the project.

The television adaptation of The Mirror and the Light is on its way too. “It is going ahead. It’s being written now, but delayed by Covid like everything else,” she says.

It is therefore unlikely to be on our screens before 2023. “It’s just a question of patience.” The previous BBC TV adaptation of the first two books – which was entitled Wolf Hall but brought together Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies – won two Bafta TV awards, and a Golden Globe.

She says she “would certainly hope” that Sir Mark Rylance, who played Cromwell in the BBC series and Damian Lewis, who appeared as Henry VIII, will be able to return to their roles, although “these are busy people with big schedules and it will all be a question of timing”.

Continue reading Hilary Mantel Hopeful Damian and Mark Rylance Will Return to Their Wolf Hall Roles