Press
Packs
 The Virgin Queen
|
 |
|
The Virgin Queen
Starts on 91Èȱ¬ ONE on Sunday 22 January at 9.00pm
Ìý
Kevin McKidd plays the Duke of Norfolk
Ìý
"He's very much the villain of the piece; every time you mention him to anybody they go, 'Oh, he's the bad guy!'" grins Kevin McKidd of his character, the duplicitous Duke of Norfolk.
Ìý
The Duke's thwarted ambitions lead to him conspiring with Mary Queen of Scots to depose Elizabeth, but he is found out and sent swiftly to the Tower and thence to the executioner's block.
Ìý
"Actually, he would have made a strong leader," insists Kevin. "He feels he very much has some God-given right to the control of the country – he and Elizabeth are family, blood relations, and he's incredibly patriarchal and doesn't believe that a woman should be in this position and that a woman can really do this job well.
Ìý
"You see that kind of misogynistic viewpoint today and it usually is coupled with that incredible arrogance of a man who believes that men just do things better than women.
Ìý
"But in a way, in his world, up until that point really what he's saying is true – Elizabeth broke the mould in so many different ways, that's why she's such a huge figure even today. Ìý
"And it was a huge signal to the old thinkers of the time when Norfolk went to the Tower – the old school really had to wake up to themselves."
Ìý
Kevin reckons that with a little less machismo, Norfolk could have gone on enjoying a successful life at Court.
Ìý
"The thing that corrupts him is his own frustration and ambition. He tries to position himself as close to Elizabeth as he can, but his ambition is too obvious to her so she keeps him at a distance which, as time goes on, becomes more and more frustrating to him," says Kevin.
Ìý
"Then she proves him wrong time and time again on political matters, which is humiliating; and he also has incredible disdain for what he sees as this disgusting affair going on between Elizabeth and Dudley.
Ìý
"He has great contempt for that, so all that conspires to their relationship being particularly tense and terse. It's an interesting dynamic because they are very combative with each other."
Ìý
Unfortunately for Norfolk, Elizabeth always wins, which eventually pushes him to desperate measures.
Ìý
"In the end he defects to the other side and tries to align himself with the Queen of Scots because potentially that might be beneficial to him, and that is his undoing really," explains Kevin – himself a proud Scotsman, from Elgin, whose film breakthrough was in Edinburgh-set classic, Trainspotting.
Ìý
"When he's found out he has a confrontation with Elizabeth and that's pretty much the end of him. Right at the end she offers him one last chance to absolve himself of his deceit but he is too proud to back down – typical man! – so basically his undoing is his own fault.
Ìý
"In a strange way it's a kind of honourable death because at least he sticks to his guns right till the end - but he was a bit foolish, I think; he probably could have skinned the cat in a different way if he'd been cleverer."
Ìý
Despite coming to a sticky end, Kevin was delighted to take the role of Norfolk.
Ìý
"Coky [Giedroyc] is a fantastic director, the script is a very good solid script with well-written, well-rounded characters, and it's a real ensemble piece," he enthuses.
Ìý
"You can only get better as an actor if you work with people who are really talented, gifted people, and it just seemed that that cast was a dream cast; it was an honour to be involved with it."
Ìý
The only downside, he says, is that people got on too well: "It was difficult sometimes to actually concentrate on the work because we all got on so well that everybody was just mucking about a lot!" he laughs.
Ìý
"It took quite a bit of concentration sometimes – especially with Dexter Fletcher around! – to actually focus on the take; but that gives the ensemble an added energy."
Ìý
He needed his own energy, particularly for the scene in which he plays real tennis against Dudley (Tom Hardy).
Ìý
"It was physically interesting to learn that game – people do play it still, but it's not something a general member of the public would be able to get access to easily without joining a club.
Ìý
"Those kinds of thing I always find very interesting as an actor, when you get a chance to do stuff that you normally wouldn't get to do."
Ìý
Recently that has included steeping himself in the Roman empire for his latest film, The Last Legion with Ben Kingsley, and for the 91Èȱ¬ TV drama Rome.
Ìý
"I did my final day's filming on Rome and then flew to Darlington for one of the scenes in The Virgin Queen," he recalls, grinning.
Ìý
"I'd been in Rome for months and months and then found myself in a Travel Lodge in Darlington – it was quite a culture shock!"
Ìý
|
Printable version