A brand new BBC interval drama focuses on the connection between Harold and William the Conqueror earlier than the Battle of Hastings, however James Norton guarantees it is not biased in opposition to the French
Joyful Valley star James Norton and Sport Of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau let their characters’ rivalry flip into off-screen competitiveness whereas filming the BBC interval drama King And Conqueror.
Within the eight-part collection, James performs Harold of Wessex, whereas Nikolaj is William of Normandy, aka William the Conqueror. They’re two former buddies destined to be on opposing sides within the 1066 battle for the English crown. James reveals that whereas Nikolaj is “a superb actor and an exquisite man”, life started to mimic artwork as he felt the necessity to problem his on-screen enemy when the cameras stopped rolling.
“We had Staff Harold and Staff William – we’d jokingly spar about which storyline was extra fascinating,” says James, 40. “We leant into the head-butting that Harold and William do within the script, and in consequence, there was a mild, boyish competitiveness between the 2 of us. We frolicked quite a bit and went jet snowboarding – I keep in mind racing him throughout the water and considering ‘that is very Harold of me’!”
READ MORE: King and Conqueror star says ‘I used to be petrified of chaos’ as they handle enormous life-change
The pair additionally frolicked coaching collectively for the extreme battle sequences, with each actors wanting them to be as genuine as doable. “We didn’t need it to really feel like a pristine, valuable interval drama. We wished it to really feel gritty,” explains James.
“The gradual, sluggish actions of combating in these costumes was actual. We labored actually arduous at making the whole lot really feel messy and of the interval, and never sensationalist or overly choreographed. We skilled arduous, Nikolaj and I each did quite a lot of classes. And quite a lot of horse using!”
Whereas British schoolchildren have at all times been taught that Harold was the hero and William the villain of the Battle of Hastings, each James, who’s an govt producer on the collection, and Nikolaj had been eager to inform each side of the story that leads as much as their assembly on the battlefield.
“I met President Emmanuel Macron at the British Museum, the place the Bayeux Tapestry is transferring to, and I used to be very fast to reassure him that we had informed the French story, the Norman story, with as little bias as doable,” says James. “There are quite a lot of tales about William put up Battle of Hastings, and the way he acted fairly monstrously, however he additionally had his personal home area, his relationship along with his spouse Matilda [Harry Potter actress Clémence Poésy] and his son.”
“Nikolaj introduced a lot complexity to that function and, in consequence, I believe the present feels balanced. We didn’t need one hero or one villain, we wished the viewers to be cut up and we wished individuals to take a seat on the couch and have somebody on Staff Harold and somebody on Staff William.
“I stated to Macron, ‘I promise you that we’ve got been honest in depicting each side of the story,’ and quite a lot of that was to do with Nikolaj’s sensible, delicate efficiency.”
Danish actor Nikolaj thinks viewers will discover William’s adolescence as fascinating as he did. “At first, he’s in an excellent place. He had a reasonably tough childhood; his father died younger, and by the age of 16, eight assassins had tried to kill him.
“He’s at the start a warrior, a person who, from an early age, discovered that energy is taken not given. However at this level, he’s the Duke of Normandy. He’s safe. He has a really robust bond with King Henry of France. He’s married to the love of his life and he or she’s pregnant. Life is nice.”
He believes William’s pursuit of energy was resulting from his need to guard his son. “I believe he doesn’t need his little one to undergo what he went by way of – a childhood the place individuals tried to kill him. When he has his son, the worry of the unknown is overwhelming to him.
“As soon as the concept of pursuing the English crown comes into play, it turns into all-consuming. It’s all linked to his son. It’s about safety and security, believing ‘the extra energy I’ve, the safer my household will likely be’.”
Nikolaj, 55, who additionally directed an episode, is eager to emphasize that King And Conqueror isn’t nearly Harold and William’s battle for energy, additionally it is concerning the males’s private lives – William with Matilda, and Harold along with his spouse Edith (The Pursuit Of Love’s Emily Beecham).
“We wished that steadiness. On the floor, it’s a really macho world with males making an attempt to assert what’s theirs and attain their goals by way of violence and battle. It’s essential that you just don’t get caught up in that an excessive amount of,” he explains.
“The emotional stakes need to be actual. Mike [lead writer Michael Robert Johnson] did an important job of discovering moments the place you get behind what could be a really one-dimensional portrait of individuals at battle. It’s extra concerning the characters’ relationships.
“And, as we all know, on the finish, there would possibly simply be a battle in some place referred to as Hastings…”
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