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What was it about this series specifically that made you want to do it?

First of all, it was a play that I didn't know at all. I think very few people know it, so unlike with a lot of Shakespeare, people don’t come to it with preconceptions. It didn’t feel like you were taking on the burden of the long history of those characters, which is exciting, for something which is so beautifully written and extraordinary. (Director) Dominic Cooke has also always been someone whose work I've admired. He was clearly so passionate and articulate about the project. In the landscape of Shakespeare, that’s the first thing you need when you have no idea what you’re doing.

What was it like playing Henry VI?

It was the question of how to play the transformative period of becoming a man. I always think that period between the ages of 18 and 24 is such a bizarre stage, and the two people at either end are always very different. The first word that always came into my head with Henry VI was empathy. He doesn't have a barrier between what other people feel and what he feels.

I think his perceived flaws as a king are to do with his great genius, which is that he can hold these two conflicting ideas in his head and have love, essentially, for both parties. That was considered weak at the time, because it means he can’t make decisions in the aggressive-minded way that is required in medieval England. Despite wearing the crown, Henry’s place is not to be a king. His primary evolution is through that realisation. He says at the end that all he wants to do is spend his last days in devotion.

Did it help you to look at the real historical character?

I realised very quickly that reading the history books was not helpful. The scripts, although they are Shakespeare’s words, have a very strong authorial voice of their own, which is difficult to articulate because they are only impressed upon you as you read them. That decision-making felt important to honour, not anything else. I didn't even look at the original plays.

Shakespeare is a strange one, where because so many other people have played the part, you have the opportunity to watch other people play it. But it’s such a weird thing to do. I can’t imagine how it would be helpful in any way. It would only make you deeply depressed!

What’s your character’s interaction with ?

In a strange way, that’s where I felt the most space in the script to be interpretative. We very easily could have been two people who meet at the beginning and don’t love each other at all. I could be an asexual person. She could have already formed relationships with Somerset and so on. Or we could start off as two characters who have potential. That was exciting for the two of us, to both consciously and subconsciously form that relationship and find our own path.