Press
Packs
 The Virgin Queen
|
 |
|
The Virgin Queen
Starts on 91Èȱ¬ ONE on Sunday 22 January at 9.00pm
Ìý
Tom Hardy plays Robert Dudley, later the Earl of Leicester
Ìý
The man who captured the heart of Elizabeth but so nearly led to her downfall is remembered by history as a handsome, dashing, irresistible, charming rogue. Yet Tom Hardy, who plays Robert Dudley in The Virgin Queen, has a slightly different take on him.
Ìý
"I like to think of him as a bit of an old dog, like an old Irish wolfhound or something," he laughs.
Ìý
"That's really his journey, loyal hound – from mischievous puppy to old, dying dog by the fireplace!"
Ìý
Dudley's loyalty was cemented in early childhood when he and Elizabeth played together; his father John was an influential figure at Court in Edward's day.
Ìý
It was John who planned to make Lady Jane Grey – who he had married off to his son Guildford – Queen instead of Mary upon Edward's death; when Mary triumphed, John and several of his family were executed for treason.
Ìý
Robert was spared, but imprisoned in the Tower of London, as was Elizabeth too for a while – another bond they share.
Ìý
"They've both gone through their own traumas and have similar experiences in the hardships of growing up within the dynasties of the royal family and politics, and then meet again in happier times at the beginning of a new era when Elizabeth takes to the throne," explains Tom.
Ìý
"There is sexual desire there but Robert is also an old family friend and she's very happy to see a familiar, friendly face at Court just before she's crowned."
Ìý
That shared background, Tom believes, is part of the attraction for Elizabeth.
Ìý
"Why would she find any man attractive, Elizabeth?" he ponders. "It's because he listens and is loyal, is very faithful and understanding and actually will talk back to her because of their childhood friendship – though he always crosses the line."
Ìý
Though it undoubtedly helped that Dudley was extremely handsome.
Ìý
"He is dashing, a doublet-wearing chancer in many ways," agrees Tom. "He's roguish – but also of good blood and there's a definite passionate thing going on between them, sometimes not as discreet as it should be, at all!
Ìý
"I'm really grateful to have been given the opportunity to play Dudley because I'm not normally cast as that sort of character, dashing and British."
Ìý
In fact it was as a US serviceman in Band Of Brothers that Londoner Tom, 28, made his big breakthrough, with a similar role in Black Hawk Down following.
Ìý
His latest credits include 91Èȱ¬ ONE's Sweeney Todd, due for transmission in January; a gritty gangster in Layer Cake; 14th-century thriller The Reckoning; horror movie Minotaur; and his forthcoming project, Scenes Of A Sexual Nature, with Ewan McGregor and Gina McKee.
Ìý
But The Virgin Queen held a special attraction for him.
"I've always wanted to be in a doublet!" he laughs. "I've been pining for my doublet and breeches since a part in a Christopher Marlow play fell through about 18 months ago, and so it was such a pleasure to get into them and get a sword!"
Ìý
On a more serious note, one of the challenges for Tom in playing Dudley was to bring out the complexities of his relationship with Elizabeth.
Ìý
"I wanted to develop somebody who was more than just a pretty, love-interest bauble," he says, adding that playing the character over a 30-year timespan helped to flesh him out, plus the added intrigue of his marriage to the queen's lady-in-waiting, Lettice, which Elizabeth saw as such a betrayal.
Ìý
"It's a very odd partnership but it kind of makes sense," muses Tom.
Ìý
"Lettice is very close to the queen, very similar in looks, size, height, wears her clothes, probably smells of her, is always around her, someone who the Queen confides in. She and Dudley are friends in many ways – they are both servants of the Queen.
Ìý
"Maybe it was a test of sorts; it was a very hurtful thing to do. But I think if you're lonely and you want to be close to somebody and the formula works out…"
Ìý
He shrugs. "Everything happens for a reason and normally for a good one," he says philosophically.
Ìý
"In the end they were married for a long time and they had a child together… and he never really had any chance whatsoever of marrying Elizabeth."
Ìý
Though Tom pays tribute to the "solid script, cast and crew", he admits he didn't enjoy quite every minute of filming.
Ìý
"In all honesty I was terrified of horses, and now I'm not so much, and I was absolutely terrified of dancing – and still am!" he reveals with a grin.
Ìý
It doesn't sound as though Tom himself would fare very well in Elizabethan days.
Ìý
"I think it would be awful to be around then, awful!" he agrees.
Ìý
"Some wonderful, beautiful stuff came out of those times – such as Shakespeare and Marlow – but I'm an X-Box and huge TV and big bed and marble bathrooms boy, I'm a bit of a sucker for that. I would have enjoyed living in Court, I guess, but it would have had to have been a little warmer!" Ìý
|
Printable version