I'm currently watching the first few episodes of the first season of The Tudors by Showtime.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a good actor, but I still think he is miscast for the role of Henry VIII. He doesn't look anything like someone like Henry VIII. Lol! Just does not seem as convincing while he tries to act the part. Too young.. and slender. haha!
The actor who should have played Henry VIII should have been Steven Waddington methinks. Always liked this actor in his role as Duncan in Michael Mann's the Last of the Mohicans when I was a kid, and saw him again too in Tim Burton's Legend of Sleepy Hollow (that was really nice, seeing him acting again).
And in the Tudors, Steven plays the Duke of Buckingham (he's the one in the extreme right in the photo above courtesy of imdb.com). The Duke was caught plotting to assassinate Henry 'cause the Duke of Buckingham was supposed to have been the rightful king if Henry had not won the battle of Agincourt in France.
If this was not history, I'd say, Steve/the Duke was planning to attack J. Rhys Meyers/Henry for the role: "I should be the king! King of England!" haha! After all, he's English, and J. is actually Irish. And seems better suited to the role of Henry. Tsk! hehe! Plus he has a bigger build and seems more mature in bearing than the latter and it would have been more accurately reminiscent of Henry VIII. Too bad he only guests in the show and dies in the second episode.
In this show, I like four actors so far:
- Sean Pertwee (the ambassador who was assassinated by the French in Italy in the first episode; dang! another good actor who's not part of the regular ensemble),
- Steven Waddington,
- Jeremy Northam (playing Thomas More of that Utopia book), and
- Maria Doyle Kennedy as Queen Catherine.
Other key cast members look really young for the characters (i.e. Ann and Mary Boleyn, the other guys at court, etc..). One thinks that maybe this show was targetting younger audiences (oddly reminds me of Gossip Girl) hence the choice of casting J. Rhys Meyers as King Henry. Very sad.
But still entertains. That's Henry VIII after all...
