– Challenging Her King –
by Staff | PBS Materpiece | April 16, 2025
In an exclusive interview with MASTERPIECE, Kate Phillips (Miss Scarlet, Peaky Blinders) takes us behind the scenes of Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light and her interpretation of the dutiful Jane Seymour. From favorite moments with costars Damian Lewis (Henry VIII) and Mark Rylance (Thomas Cromwell) to a costume borrowed from Claire Foy (Anne Boleyn, Wolf Hall Season 1), Phillips reveals highlights of her on-set Tudor journey, plus the one question she’d ask author Hilary Mantel.
[Note: Contains scene spoilers from Episodes 2 and 3.]
Masterpiece:
Was 2015’s Wolf Hall actually your first professional role? And how did it feel returning a decade later for the sequel?
Kate Phillips:
Yes, it absolutely was. I was in rehearsals [for the sequel, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light] opposite Damian Lewis and Mark Rylance again. The last time I’d been in that situation, it had been 10 years before, when I was technically still at drama school. I’d never done a professional job before, so there were flashes of feeling I’m completely unprepared for this. I’m so green, I’m so inexperienced. And then realizing actually, “You’ve got this.” And it was really nice to be in that situation again but also be able to look back on 10 years of [working], feeling a lot more in my body, having had a lot more life experience being at that point, a mother of one, and just feeling a lot more grounded.
Masterpiece:
Tell us about your perception of Jane Seymour after playing her across two seasons of Wolf Hall.
Kate Phillips:
Jane remained an enigma for me until the very end. And I really leaned on [Director] Peter Kosminsky a lot. I think Hilary Mantel’s final book [The Mirror and the Light] draws out a far more complex character than the previous two books. You just don’t get to engage with her a huge amount earlier on. Jane is someone who’s lurking in the background a lot. She’s been a pawn of her family the whole time. But I think certainly in this sequel we see that this woman had far more agency and far more wit and complexity than I think even history has shown.
Masterpiece:
In fact, history seems to consistently reduce Jane Seymour into an obedient, dull figure. How did you bring depth and complexity to your characterization?
Kate Phillips:
I think any human being ultimately has greater depth and complexity than maybe history books or scripts might imply. So, I think you always just try to find the human behind the words. And even if you have no dialogue, your challenge is to bring to life a real person. And real people think all sorts of things. They’re contradictions. We all are. The joy of playing someone like Jane is that she did exist. So, I did what I would endeavor to do with any part really, which is just to try and bring a sense of humanity to her.
Masterpiece:
Jane walks a very fine line in her royal marriage—one requiring great caution and delicacy. How did you approach her relationship with Henry VIII?
Kate Phillips:
What was going through my mind when we shot the scene where they get married, was that it happens almost simultaneously alongside Anne Boleyn’s beheading. Everyone knew the king would divorce Anne Boleyn, but I don’t think people thought he would kill her. … And if that wasn’t something you’d anticipated, I don’t suppose you are going into the marriage with a sense of joy. You’re going to be really fearful recognizing that your only power is in birthing a child.
We’re also led to believe that Jane’s never had sex before. So, she’s stepping into uncharted territory. And while I think she knows she’ll bring a different energy to her marriage to Henry, I don’t assume for a second she goes into it feeling overjoyed. She recognizes that it’s a job, it’s a task, and she needs to commit to survive.
Masterpiece:
Can you describe the bond between Jane Seymour and Thomas Cromwell?
Kate Phillips:
It’s interesting in that if feels a bit like my relationship with Mark [Rylance], really, because they first encounter each other from afar. …It’s a very quiet, it’s a very reflective relationship they have. In the moments they share together, it feels like there’s a real sense of trust that builds. Like there’s a true intellectual and emotional connection there that they’re not able to explore—that closeness was so enjoyable to play and lean into.
Masterpiece:
Is there a scene you shot with Mark Rylance (Thomas Cromwell) that stands out to you?
Kate Phillips:
We shot a fireside scene for Episode 2, and it’s when Jane … asks Cromwell to discuss her concerns about becoming pregnant and whether that’s related to not enjoying sex. What a woman to bring this up! Very bold, almost to the point where you’re thinking she’s so green. There is a timidity there with Jane, but she desperately wants to know, and I think she really trusts him.
It’s lovely to play that need just to speak to him—and then realize that maybe she’s slightly got it wrong. The dialogue’s so brilliant, and the mood created on set that evening was very special. It felt very intimate. Yeah, I won’t forget that.
Masterpiece:
What scene opposite Damian Lewis as Henry VIII is most memorable?
Kate Phillips:
I really enjoyed a scene that I was actually very nervous to shoot because again, this is Jane being arguably out of character for women. It’s in Episode 3 where she comes in front of the whole court to … challenge Henry on what he’s doing with dismantling the monasteries, but she does it in front of everyone. And apparently Jane did do this. …The way I understood it was that she does care for Henry, she really doesn’t want him to balls it up, and she really cares about these people. I don’t think she had any ill will towards Henry, but it was slightly misjudged. She could have chosen a different time where she perhaps wouldn’t have embarrassed him, but that scene was intense.
Masterpiece:
The costuming in both installments of Wolf Hall is truly sublime. Did you have a favorite costume and what can you tell us about it?
Kate Phillips:
I really loved the wedding dress. We had number of fittings and in the first, the bodice was taken from Claire Foy’s (Anne Boleyn) wedding dress [from Wolf Hall Season 1], which was interesting. I think costume were keen just to make use of it. However, I sense that they probably would have reused Anne Boleyn’s wedding dress—I mean they unpicked [the embroidery] from [the dead queen’s] clothes to reuse them. They wouldn’t throw these things away. They very well might have reused Anne Boleyn’s wedding dress. And Jane would’ve worn it. I just found that so powerful.
Masterpiece:
What was your greatest pleasure in filming both Wolf Hall and its sequel?
Kate Phillips:
Lots of things were a huge pleasure. Wolf Hall is an incredibly rich production; just being part of that world was a pleasure. I’ve always been fascinated by the Tudors. I’m sure many, many people have been. I grew up very close to Hampton Court, a 10-minute walk away in fact. And I was actually visiting my dad yesterday, who still lives there. At the top of his stairs, he has a framed print of Jane Seymour, and it’s always been there! It’s weird; it’s just at the top of the stairs. So, I’ve always had this love for the Tudors and this just quite casual affiliation with them.
Masterpiece:
If you could ask author Hilary Mantel one question about Jane Seymour, what would it be?
Kate Phillips:
Oh, that’s an interesting question because I never got a chance to meet her! Maybe I’d say, did Jane Seymour love him? And by him, do I mean Cromwell, or do I mean Henry? Who did she love?
Read the rest of the original article at PBS Masterpiece