Charles II

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LINKS

BBC Presskit charles_ii.pdf

BBC Presskit Interv Rufus Sewell.pdf

BBC Charles II Preview

A & E

bbcpressrelease
english heritage
.imdb

tentative cast being put together for an April 2003 start in production:
Rufus Sewell - King Charles II
Dame Diana Rigg - Charles's mother Henrietta Marie
Rupert Graves - Duke of Buckingham
Shirley Henderson - Queen Catherine
Alice Patten - Lady Frances Stuart
Charlie Creed Miles as James, Charles’s brother
Emma Pierson - Nell Gwynne
Mélanie Thierry - Louise de Keroualle
Helen McCrory - Barbara Villiers
Ian McDiarmid - Sir Edward Hyde
Written by Adrian Hodges

Historical Novel
by Margaret Campbell Barnes
"With All My Heart"
... the love story of the dashing King Charles II of Restoration England and his bride Catherine Of Braganza, who proved to be a woman of passionate integrity, and from the moment she set eyes on the darkly handsome King Charles she loved him utterly. Gradually she learned to hold her own with courageous dignity against dazzling courtesans and attacks on her religious beliefs.

Links

britannia.
.bbc.co.uk/history royalty.Stuart/CharlesIl
historymole.com/cgi- .uk/output/Page92.asp
.madamebonancieux/charles

CHARLES II       UK - BBC - The Power & the Passion
                                                                     US - A&E - The Last King

VIDEO CLIPS
Rufus on Charles II - Quicktime
A&E The Last King - Quicktime

End credits music Charles II   wav.

BUY THE DVD
9 April 2004 The Last King DVD release
Region 1 US & Canada     A&E Store

16 February 2004 DVD release Region 2 UK
bbcshop    amazon.co.uk    blackstar.co.uk

Listen to an interview that Rufus did for "Charles II"
thanks to ukelehip at   rufus_daily :
I found a radio interview to promote Charles II in the US.
It's about 13 minutes and you need RealPlayer to listen to it. It was done over the phone.

May 2004 - Emmy Consideration by A&E for Charles II read
19 April 2004 Variety & Hollywood Reporter
Charles II Wins BAFTA TV Awards
BEST DRAMA SERIAL "Charles II: The Power and the Passion"
(BBC One and A&E) ... the Beeb landed the drama serial gong
for its raunchy costume skein, "Charles II: The Power and the Passion," starring Rufus Sewell read

23 March 2004 BAFTA TV Nomination DRAMA SERIAL
Charles II: The Power and the Passion joins Prime Suspect,
The Second Coming and State of Play for Drama Serial.
The winners will be announced at the ceremony on
Sunday 18 April 2004 at the Grosvenor House Hotel,
Park Lane, London,

21 March 2004 THE LAST KING - Charles II
A Four-Hour North American Premiere at 8PM/7C
A&E press release
A&E The Last King Website
VARIETY - Review Mar. 18, 2004
Rufus Sewell is outstanding as a king who has been written off by historians
as little more than a randy party boy. He brings texture and nuance to Charles,
showing his resolve when Parliament gets out of hand, but becoming a softy
when faced with a bawling girlfriend read the review
NEW YORK POST - Review March 19, 2004 read
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER - Review March 19, 2004 read
NEW YORK TIMES - Review - March 20, 2004 read

Rufus Sewell has tremendous physical energy
combined with sensitivity and charisma which
makes him a perfect choice for the title role.
Jane Tranter, BBC April 2003

"This is a complex, rich portrait of a king,
not to mention an incredibly sexy one,"
executive producer Delia Fine tells The Hollywood Reporter.
"Rufus is just the right actor to play such a fantastic character."

7th December Episode 4 on BBC One Final Episode 9 PM Sunday
30th November Episode 3 on BBC ONE 9pm Sunday
23rd November 2003I Episode 2 - 9pm Sunday on BBC ONE in UK
16th November 16 2003 9PM on BBC 1 in UK
BBC Message Board Q&A - Rufus Answers read
BBC Presskit Interview - Rufus Sewell read
Radio Times 22-28 November 2003 -Rufus Sewell Read the Interview

15-21 November 03 Wales TV read the article
15-21 November 03 Daily Express read the article
15 21 Novemver 03 TV Times read the article
15-21 November 03 Total TV Guide read the article
15-21 November 03 TV & Satellite Week read the article
15-21 November 03 Rufus Rules! read the article
15-21 November 03 Dangerous Laisons The SUN read the article
Nov 15, 2003 The Scotsman "Rufus is a proper Charlie"
ACTOR Rufus Sewell is looking gorgeous,
his hunky frame clad in a jumper that just reveals his hairy chest,
his green eyes clear and sparkling. But he confesses to feeling a little tired.
He says with a broad grin: "I think it’s because it’s just so hard to get back to reality . . ."
.read the article
10 November 03 guardian.co.uk/tv Charles Palace Secrets
8 November 03 TheWesternMail The Secrets of Charles II
Off With His Hair
It's all sex, spaniels and dodgy wigs as Rufus takes on the role of randy monarch Charles I.
His new TV character was known for his mistresses and illegitimate children, but
Rufus Sewell is a one-woman man who loves taking his 18 month-old son Billy to work with him.
NOW Magazine Nov. 2003

Tatler November 2003
"Right Proper Charlie"
   thanks Karen     read article

October 25, 2003 DailyMail
Cover Story - His Majesty's Pleasures

October 25, 2003 Telegraph Magazine   Cover Story -

October 23, 2003 BBC Presskit Interview - Rufus Sewell
October 23, 2003 telegraph.co.uk
TV's racy romp with Charles II By Tom Leonard,
"He was an extraordinary man - a master of deviousness, he used wit as an instrument and his sexuality had an almost desperate quality,"

Sept 2003 Radio Times -Leica virgin - Rufus & Emma Pierson - read

29 July 2003 news.bbc.co.uk The schedule includes historical dramas such as Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell as the king, alongside Dame Diana Rigg and Rupert Graves.
The drama is described as a "dynamic romp through history".
29 July 2003 from murph
Don't know if you have seen these. A Brit friend sent them along:
bbc.co.uk/pressofficeautumn2003
bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressrelease
- 21 June 03 Daily Mail "Weekend"
  Rufus Gets The Royal treatment
  Lester Middlehurst    read the article
  
  It is 8AM and already the temperature on the set of the BBC's lavish new costume drama, CharlesII, has reached 38 degrees C. Actor Rufus Sewell has just come out of make-up, where he has been for several hours so his handsome features can be aged in readiness for the king's death scene. We are inside a warehouse outside Prague in the Chech Republic, in which a set has been built to represent the Palace of Whitehall. The atmosphere is stifling because of the excessive heat.
  
  Sewell, however, is in good spirits, joking with the cast and crew. Despite the enormity of his role - he appears in virtually every scene of the four part drama to be screened in late autumn - he is clearly relishing the challenge. He and his girlfriend Amy had just moved to Los Angeles with their baby son Billy when he was offered the part of Charles II. It is expected to do for his career what Pride and Prejudice did for Colin Firth's, yet before he was cast, he had decided to spend six months of the year in America to pursue a film career.
  
  He had just signed a lease on Rock Hudson's former Hollywood home when he had to decamp and return to Europe. Like most of the team, he is renting an apartment in Prague so his family can be with hism and every lunchtime Amy brings Billy to the set, Says producer Kate Harwood, "Quite a lot of the cast and crew have young children with them and it's lovely to see them all playing together on the set at lunchtimes. Even though we're working incredibly hard there is a great social scene here. There are quite a few party animals involved in this production so there have been a lot of late-night parties on the nights before days when we aren't shooting."
  
  Sewell was first choice for the title role of the pounds 4 million epic, but originally turned down the offer because he was committed to a film in the US , but it fell through. "We were absolutely thrilled to get him," said Harwood. "Rufus has tremendous presence and natural authority and the camera loves him. He's so charming and people say the Charles was either the most cynical, ruthless king in history or the most charming. Rufus has the ability to show both sides of the man. It's a massive part for him but he's doing it with such good humour.
  
  'Charles II is quite racy and bloody,' explains Harwood. 'Charles' private life is a huge part of the story.' The bedroom scenes promise to be particularly raunchy as much of the script deals with the randy monarch's amorous exploits. Helen McCrory plays his manipulative promiscuous mistress Barbara Villiers; Emma Pierson is Neil Gwynne and Shirley Henderson is his long-suffering, barren wife. The cast also includes Diana Rigg as Charles Mother , Henrietta Maria, and Alice Patten, the youngest daughter of former Hong Kong Governor Chris, plays the virginal Lady Frances who manages to escape the Kings sexual advances.
  
  So far there has been only one major technical hitch. Explains Kate. "There's an airfield nearby and planes are coming over as we are filming. We persuaded them to limit their flying lessons to early mornings and during our lunch breaks. They have been so co-operative. I can't imagine an English airfield being quite so helpful."
                                   thanks to Karen for the article & scans
- 20 June 03 Daily Mail (UK)
  RUFUS CZECHS OUT CHARLES - by Baz Bamigboye
  
  Rufus Sewell, sporting a curly wig he describes as having the texture of a 'horses's ass', strolls past an Acacia tree and chats with fellow actor David Bradley. The scene takes in a beautifully clipped yew hedge, an oak tree and beds of roses, catnip, sage and delphinium - a picturesque view of a grand English garden, or so it would seem. Sewell is portraying Charles II in a 5.5 million pound four-part drama that the BBC is filming in what is supposed to be Oxford, where the king decamped to escape the plague.
  
  In fact, we're in Moravia. The castle of Lednice, to be precise - a three-hour drive from Prague. The cast, led by Sewell, have been shooting the public, and some very private, aspects of the Monarch's life, on various locations in the Czech Republic.
  
  Shirley Henderson plays Charles's long-suffering wife Catherine. The other women in his life are Helen McCrory as the scheming Lady Castlemain; Emma Pierson as Nell Gwyn; French newcomer Melanie Thierry as Louise de Keroualle; and Alice Patten as Lady Frances Stewart - who spent years spurning his regal advances.
  
  Director Joe Wright and producer Kate Harwood realised their budget wouldn't stretch far in the UK - and the hunt for locations would have been hellishly difficult. But the cast and crew seem to have taken to life in Prague. There's a sense of camaraderie on the set. I can't name names, but when the lads spot a comely lass they nudge each other and go, in smoothest Leslie Phillips: 'Tick-tock, who's the new nurse?'
  
  Alice Patten - the one who got away - finished her scenes yesterday. 'She just said No!' the actress
  laughed. 'She ended up as the face of Britannia on coins, even though she didn't give Charles what he wanted.'
  
  Sewell was in LA when approached by Wright and Harwood. 'I knew that if I was going to do it, it would depend on what Joe's vision was for the drama and I liked what he said, so I said Yes.'
  
  But, until then, Sewell admitted his view of Charles had been a comical one. 'My idea of Charles II was based on those old Cadbury's chocolate Orange adverts, where he goes to the theatre with Nell Gwynn and you have these enormous bazooms with Nell G going: "Have an Orange,
  Charlie," and that was basically my idea of him. But that's all changed now,' said Sewell, suitably
  seriously, lifting his wig and scratching his shaved head underneath.
  
  The drama looks at the intrigue behind how Charles regained the throne, and at court gossip and politics of the time. It will be broadcast on BBC1 in November.
  
  (2 photos - large one of Alice Patten in costume, small one of Rufus having his wig adjusted)
  
  Thanks Gill and Rai for the article
The Independent April 22, 2003 read
Lots of actors" wanted to be in a series about Charles II that started filming last week, in which Rufus Sewell is playing the king.
VARIETY Apr. 16, 2003
A&E revs up for 'King'
Telepic surveys life, family, mistresses of Charles II
By DENISE MARTIN
Cabler A&E has greenlit production on four-part mini "The Last (above A&E- industry publication ad)
King." Joe Wright ("Nature Boy") will helm and Kate Harwood ("The Lost World") will produce the telepic, which centers on the life of King
Charles II, his squabbling family and his many mistresses.
"Charles II was a remarkable man -- witty, intellectually curious
and, I understand, downright sexy," said A&E senior VP of
programming Robert DeBitetto.
Rufus Sewell ("Helen of Troy"), Rupert Graves ("The Forsythe Saga")
and Diana Rigg ("Victoria and Albert") are set to star in the
project, penned by "The Lost World" scribe Adrian Hodges.
Delia Fine and Laura Mackie will exec produce.
A&E and BBC co-production began lensing Monday in Prague.
Date in print: Thurs., Apr. 17, 2003, Los Angeles

VARIETY Apr. 8, 2003,
Sewell rules in BBC1 pic
Cast includes Graves, Rigg, Freeman, McDiarmid
By DEBRA JOHNSON
LONDON -- Rufus Sewell will play Charles II, who ruled England from
1660-85, in a four-part historical drama for pubcaster flagship
channel BBC1.
"Charles II" will focus on the king and his court, his squabbling
family and his glamorous mistresses, from the high-born and
promiscuous Barbara Villiers (Helen McCrory), through folk heroine
and sex symbol of the day Nell Gwynne (Emma Pierson).
Cast also includes Rupert Graves, Diana Rigg, Martin Freeman and Ian
McDiarmid.
"Rufus Sewell has tremendous physical energy combined with
sensitivity and charisma, which makes him a perfect choice for the
title role," said Jane Tranter, controller of drama commissioning at
the BBC.
THE LONDON TIMES April 4, 2003
THE youngest daughter of Chris Patten is to star in a "lusty"; BBC One drama about the life and loves of King Charles II.
She will play Lady Frances Stuart, the young virgin who managed to escape Charles's sexual advances and became Britannia, the female icon who presided over British coinage for three centuries. Rufus Sewell will play a "witty, sensual"; monarch in the 4 million drama, a four-part series that will be a highlight of BBC 4million pound autumn season.
Filming for Charles II begins in the Czech Republic later this month. Frances Stuart is believed to be the only one of Charles's loves to refuse his advances. He penned her tender love poems but to no avail. The king was furious when she eloped with the Duke of Richmond but eventually forgave her and made her husband Ambassador to Denmark.
Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama, described the series as "a dynamic romp through history" ; racy, visceral and violent ; set in the corridors and bedrooms of power, when the conflict between Monarch and State was at a crossroads;.
The drama, written by Adrian Hodges, begins with Charles's restoration to the Throne and follows his battles with Parliament and attempts to increase religious tolerance. But it is Charles's reputation as ";that great enemy of chastity and marriage", which will be probed most closely, with mistresses from the kindhearted Nell Gwynne to the scheming Barbara Villiers disrobing for the King to the distress of the barren Queen Catherine.
Kate Harwood, the producer, said: "It is a lusty piece and Charles's infidelities appalled people at the time. But it was a violent age and although Charles was the last King to try to rule without Parliament he managed to remain quite popular."
Miss Patten will star alongside Dame Diana Rigg, who plays Charles's mother, Henrietta Maria, Rupert Graves, who stars as the Duke of Buckingham, and Shirley Henderson as Queen Catherine.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Sewell crowned to play Charles II
in A&E-BBC mini
March 18, 2003 - The Hollywood Reporter
Rufus Sewell has been tapped to star in the upcoming original biopic on Charles II, a co-production of A&E and BBC. (Andrew Wallenstein)

NEW YORK -- Rufus Sewell has been tapped to star in the upcoming original biopic on Charles II, a co-production of A&E and BBC.

Scheduled to begin shooting next month in Prague, the four-hour miniseries chronicles the 17th century monarch's turbulent reign, which coincided with the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. The film also explores his equally stormy personal life, including his succession of mistresses.

"This is a complex, rich portrait of a king — not to mention an incredibly sexy one," miniseries executive producer Delia Fine said. "Rufus is just the right actor to play such a fantastic character."

Sewell's credits include "Extreme Ops" and "A Knight's Tale."

Rupert Graves ("Extreme Ops") will co-star as Lord Buckingham, Charles' nemesis.

Expected to air late this year or in early 2004, the miniseries will be directed by Joe Wright (BBC's "Crocodile Snap"). The script was written by Adrian Hodges ("Lorna Doone"). Laura Mackie will executive produce, and Kate Harwood produces for the BBC.

The miniseries is the first longform project greenlighted by Bob DeBitetto, A&E's new senior vp original programming. No budget was disclosed, but it will be one of the biggest productions in A&E history, Fine said.

Sewell is represented by Victoria Belfrage in London and Endeavor in the United States. Gene Parseghian is his manager.

Sewell to Play Charles II for A&E
Tue, Mar 18, 2003 11:41 AM PDT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - British actor Rufus Sewell has signed on to play English King Charles II in an upcoming miniseries about the 17th-century monarch.

The four-hour miniseries, a co-production by A&E and the BBC, is scheduled to begin shooting in Prague next month. It will chronicle Charles II's time on the throne, which coincided with the Great Plague and a fire that destroyed much of London, and his personal life.

"This is a complex, rich portrait of a king, not to mention an incredibly sexy one," executive producer Delia Fine tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Rufus is just the right actor to play such a fantastic character."

Sewell's credits include "A Knight's Tale" and "Dark City." Rupert Graves ("The Forsyte Saga" ), Sewell's co-star in last year's "Extreme Ops," will play Lord Buckingham in the miniseries.

Adrian Hodges ("David Copperfield," "Lorna Doone" ) wrote the script. It's expected to air late this year or in early 2004. .zap2it.com/

Guardian BBC plumps for £4m royal drama
Jason Deans Thursday November 7, 2002

The BBC is to broadcast a £4m drama about the life of King Charles
II, which is being described as an "historical West Wing".
King Charles II forms part of an ambitious new batch of period
dramas, ordered by the BBC controller of drama, Jane Tranter.
The Charles II drama will provide plenty of uncomfortable parallels
with today's royals, featuring the monarch's squabbling family and
his glamorous mistresses, who included 17th century sex symbol Nell
Gwynne and French spy Louise de Keroualle.

"It's going to be a racy, visceral, violent, modern and no holds
barred look at what being king meant to Charles II," Ms Tranter
said.

"Charles II was the first monarch who had to work with parliament
and it will be a bit of a historical West Wing. I also expect it to
invoke memories of I, Claudius," she added.

"It will be one of the most ribald things we've done on BBC1. He had
more mistresses in five years than most people get through in a
lifetime. Then there's the great plague and the great fire of
London."

Charles II came into power following the death of Oliver Cromwell
and the restoration of the monarchy and although there was
censorship at the time, the era and his decadent court has been well
documented by diarist Samuel Pepys.

King Charles II will go out as a two-part drama on BBC1 next year.
The drama is being written by Adrian Hodges, whose credits include
David Copperfield and The Lost World.
Press Release
April 07, 2003

Rufus Sewell is Charles II in a four-part drama for BBC ONE

Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves, Helen McCrory, Martin Freeman and Ian McDiarmid star in a four-part drama serial about the life of King Charles II for BBC ONE, it was announced by BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, Jane Tranter.

The focus of King Charles II is his court, his squabbling family and his glamorous mistresses - from the high-born and promiscuous Barbara Villiers (Helen McCrory), through folk heroine and sex symbol of the day Nell Gwynne (Emma Pierson) to the French spy Louise de Keroualle (Mélanie Thierry).

It is an original take on a historical period written by award-winning screenwriter Adrian Hodges, whose credits include David Copperfield and The Lost World, which penetrates to the heart of the charismatic monarch who was deeply traumatised by the execution of his father.

"An ambitious and original historical drama for BBC ONE, King Charles II is a dynamic romp through history - racy, visceral and violent - set in the corridors and bedrooms of power, when the conflict between monarch and state was at a crossroads," said Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning.

"Rufus Sewell has tremendous physical energy combined with sensitivity and charisma which makes him a perfect choice for the title role."

Destitute, weary, hopeless: after nearly a decade in exile from Republican England, even Charles II's oldest and dearest friend the Duke of Buckingham (Rupert Graves) abandons him and returns home to make his peace with Cromwell.

The witty, vital, sensual monarch is at his lowest ebb when loyal minister Sir Edward Hyde (Ian McDiarmid) brings news of Cromwell's sudden death. The celebrations are short-lived, as England passes peacefully into the hands of Cromwell's son Richard.

Never did the prospects of regaining Charles's crown seem so bleak, until canny General Monck persuades Parliament to invite Charles Stuart back to take up his throne.

Charles's triumphant ride into London on his thirtieth birthday segues into another victory; the long-anticipated seduction of beautiful, tantalising Barbara Villiers who has been holding out on Charles for several months.

With the virile Charles spawning illegitimate children all over the place, the need for a queen and an heir becomes paramount. Barbara is sufficiently confident of her charms not to feel threatened by the arrival of the devout and mousy Catherine from Portugal, the future Queen who, at first proves to be no match for the wily Barbara.

The cast also includes: Diana Rigg as Henrietta Maria, Charles's volatile mother; Martin Freeman as Shaftesbury, Charles's political nemesis and former minister; Shirley Henderson as Queen Catherine; Charlie Creed Miles as James, Charles's brother and Alice Patten plays the demur Lady Francis Stewart, the young virgin who manages to escape Charles's sexual advances.

Further casting to be announced shortly.

Complementing Charles II, BBC ONE will be screening two documentaries on Cromwell and King Charles II.

Charles II is one of a number of forthcoming original history dramas f

Notes to Editors

Filming in Prague from Monday 14 April for 12 weeks, Charles II is due for transmission later this year on BBC ONE.

The director is Joe Wright and producer is Kate Harwood.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/04_april/07/charles_ii.shtml

Sewell crowned to play Charles II
in A&E-BBC mini
March 18, 2003 - The Hollywood Reporter
Rufus Sewell has been tapped to star in the upcoming original biopic on Charles II, a co-production of A&E and BBC. (Andrew Wallenstein)

NEW YORK -- Rufus Sewell has been tapped to star in the upcoming original biopic on Charles II, a co-production of A&E and BBC.

Scheduled to begin shooting next month in Prague, the four-hour miniseries chronicles the 17th century monarch's turbulent reign, which coincided with the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. The film also explores his equally stormy personal life, including his succession of mistresses.

"This is a complex, rich portrait of a king — not to mention an incredibly sexy one," miniseries executive producer Delia Fine said. "Rufus is just the right actor to play such a fantastic character."

Sewell's credits include "Extreme Ops" and "A Knight's Tale."

Rupert Graves ("Extreme Ops") will co-star as Lord Buckingham, Charles' nemesis.

Expected to air late this year or in early 2004, the miniseries will be directed by Joe Wright (BBC's "Crocodile Snap"). The script was written by Adrian Hodges ("Lorna Doone"). Laura Mackie will executive produce, and Kate Harwood produces for the BBC.

The miniseries is the first longform project greenlighted by Bob DeBitetto, A&E's new senior vp original programming. No budget was disclosed, but it will be one of the biggest productions in A&E history, Fine said.

Sewell is represented by Victoria Belfrage in London and Endeavor in the United States. Gene Parseghian is his manager.

.............

Thanks to all who sent articles & links,
...thanks Mary, Karen, vuld, the special fan from Wales, Rachael, the Emmy 2004 fan, 0097ff, for your special help.

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