– Riveting, Dynamic and Bloody –
Damian, along with his castmates and Director Peter Kosminsky, attended the London premiere and panel discussion of Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light on November 4, 2024 at British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank in London, England for the upcoming second season of the series. Audience members rave it was “superb beyond words.”
Variety wrote, Lewis admitted during the Q&A that he had donned padding to fill out his figure during the current series. Asked how he wanted to play Henry in the new adaptation, Lewis replied simply “fat.” The actor wore a “fabulous foam suit,” he revealed, which protected him from the chilly British weather while shooting on location. “He is physically imposing, as well as psychologically unpredictable,” Lewis said of the sixteenth century monarch. Asked what his most “memorable” moment during production was, Lewis replied it was the wedding between Henry and his third wife Jane Seymour (played by Kate Phillips), as well as another scene in which she dies following childbirth. “It was a particularly moving day as she passed. From an acting point of view, and being immersed and present, it was a lovely moment.”
The Times wrote, Damian Lewis is a wonderful actor but his knowledge of history is a bit shaky. Speaking at the British Film Institute about The Mirror and the Light, the BBC sequel to Wolf Hall, in which he reprises his role as Henry VIII, Lewis said his character had “genuinely loved” Jane Seymour (played by Kate Phillips) and could have had a long, happy marriage if she’d lived. “The irony is she doesn’t give him a male heir but does give us one of our greatest monarchs,” he said. Minutes later he corrected his “deliberate mistake”: he had confused Jane, mother of Edward VI, with Anne Boleyn, who produced Elizabeth. “I tend to only read my scenes,” he explained.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light arrives on BBC One and iPlayer starting on Sunday, November 10, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. in the UK.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will air on PBS MASTERPIECE Sunday nights from March 23 to April 20, 2025 at 9/8c in the US.