Jodie Turner-Smith on being cast as Anne Boleyn: "To me it felt natural to play a queen"
The Queen & Slim star leads the cast of Channel 5's period drama Anne Boleyn.
Anne Boleyn star Jodie Turner-Smith has spoken about the Channel 5 drama's approach to casting, saying that she never puts limitations on the roles she'd be able to play.
Speaking in this week's Radio Times magazine, Turner-Smith said Anne Boleyn's diverse cast might be "a stretch" for some people, but for many it'll be a "fascinating" way to tell the story of King Henry VIII's second wife.
"It’s much more approachable and appealing to a contemporary audience when you cast this way because we are distilling this down to a human experience,” Turner-Smith said. "If you ask anyone to watch a film or to observe any art, you are asking them to suspend their beliefs.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
"I am aware it’s going to be a stretch for some people because they will feel too distracted by that, but I think for a lot of other people who are finally ready to see the world in a different way, they’re going to see that this is a human story we are telling, and a fascinating one at that."
When asked whether she'd assumed playing an English queen would always be out of bounds to her, Turner-Smith said: "When I envision the world for myself and what is possible I don't put limitations on it.
"I would never say, 'No one will ever give me this role.' I definitely had an awareness that no one had given me a part like that yet, but to me it felt so natural to play a queen."
The period drama, filmed around the Yorkshire countryside, stars Turner-Smith as Queen Anne Boleyn in the final months of her life, with Mark Stanley playing Henry VIII, Paapa Essiedu playing Anne's brother George and Lola Petticrew playing Jane Seymour.
Trigonometry's Thalissa Teixeira, who stars in the Anne Boleyn cast as Henry VIII's mistress Madge Shelton, recently told RadioTimes.com that inclusion of actors of colour in Anne Boleyn was not an example of colour-blind casting, but instead an example of being "identity-conscious".
Read the full interview with Jodie Turner-Smith in this week's Radio Times, out Tuesday. Anne Boleyn airs on Tuesday 1st June at 9pm on Channel 5. Check out what else is on with our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.
Authors
