Jodie Turner-Smith transformed into Anne Boleyn in a first look image at the new drama of the same name, after being cast as the first black actress to play Henry VIII’s second wife in a bid to ‘challenge conventions’.
In the photo, the Queen & Slim star, 34, posed in a traditional Tudor gown and headpiece for new three-part psychological thriller by Fable Pictures, Channel 5 and Sony Pictures Television.
The upcoming series – scheduled to air later this year – explores the final moments of the queen’s life from her lens as she attempts to tackle patriarchy and struggles to secure a life for her daughter, before she is executed by her husband.
Challenging conventions: Jodie Turner-Smith transformed into Anne Boleyn in a first look image at the new drama of the same name, scheduled for release later this year
The cast also includes I May Destroy You’s Paapa Essiedu, who will portray the role of Anne’s brother and Tudor nobleman George, and actor Mark Stanley as Henry VIII.
Dating Amber actress Lola Petticrew is featured as Anne’s love rival, Jane Seymour, who succeeded her as the Queen of England.
Barry Ward, Jamael Westman, Amanda Burton and Thalissa Teixeira also play roles in the mini-series – which finished production on location in Yorkshire in December 2020.
Penned by writer Eve Hedderwick Turner and directed by Lynsey Miller, Anne Boleyn aims to ‘challenge all the conventions of who we think Anne Boleyn was and shines a feminist light on her story.’
Background: The series explores the final moments of the queen’s life from her lens before she is executed by her husband (Anne pictured)
Fable Pictures added: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled to have the magnetic Jodie Turner-Smith on board to encapsulate Anne’s determination to be an equal among men and to pave a path for her daughter.
‘We feel that history has side-lined the voice of this ambitious Queen in favour of the men who brought her down, and that Lynsey Miller’s beautiful, intimate vision will put Anne’s gaze at the heart of the piece.’
Ben Frow, director of programs at ViacomCBS, added: ‘This project re-frames her story as a propulsive psychological thriller, told from a new perspective, with top talent like Jodie Turner-Smith attached.
‘It was simply too irresistible to say no to and I’m very excited to see the finished product.’
Director Miller previously defended the decision to give the role to a black actress, after sparking accusations of ‘blackwashing’.
Upcoming: The Queen & Slim star, 34, leads the new three-part psychological thriller by Fable Pictures, Channel 5 and Sony Pictures Television (pictured in 2018)
Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII’s second wife whose historical significance is often overlooked due to her brutal death
Though perhaps best known in English history for the brutal way in which she met her end, Anne Boleyn’s mark on the country’s history is far more significant.
Anne Boleyn
Born the daughter of Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard, in 1501, she first came into the eye-sight of Henry VIII in 1522 when she secured a post at court as maid of honour to the king’s first Catherine of Aragon.
It was not until 1526 that Henry began his pursuit of Anne – a pursuit which was initially resisted.
Her refusal to be a mistress sparked Henry to approach the then-Pope to have his marriage annulled.
When it became clear this would not be allowed, Henry began his drive to break the power of the Catholic Church in England – what later became known as the English Reformation.
Henry and Anne formally married in January 1533 – a move which resulted in the Pope excommunicating Henry and him consequently taking control of the Church of England.
But it was ultimately not a happy marriage after Boleyn failed to produce a male heir.
In order to marry again he needed a reason to end his marriage to Anne and she was investigated for high treason and sent to the Tower of London.
Her beheading in the tower of London followed the miscarriage of a male child, and increasing clashes with Thomas Cromwell who is blamed for orchestrating the charges against her after engineering the break from the Catholic Church.
Court rumours also suggested that Boleyn’s forthright manner and intelligence angered courtiers. She was politically astute and allied with Protestant reformers of the church, including Cromwell before he turned on her.
And her execution immediately followed the death of Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon. That event legally freed Henry to pursue marriage with Boleyn’s lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour, if his current wife were to die.
She was convicted on 15 May 1536 and beheaded four days later.
Henry began courting Jane Seymour in 1536.
Anne did leave one more mark on English history though, her daughter, Elizabeth, who was crowned as queen in 1558.
During her daughter’s reign, Anne became venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation.
The TV executive said: ‘I feel very strongly that we have the best actress for the role so I am happy to stand by it.
‘I’m very proud of what we have created together, so let them talk.
‘There are going to be a lot of people who don’t like it, but I feel like there has to be space for that and there are going to be a lot of people who love it. I’m one of them.’
It is the second time a BAME actress has played the role of Anne Boleyn on screen, after Merle Oberon, an Anglo-Indian actress who played the royal in Alexander Korda’s 1933 film The Private Life of Henry VIII.
Though she claimed she was Australian, in order to avoid prejudice at the time, Oberon was born in India to a British army officer father and Indian mother. She was nicknamed ‘Queenie’ in honour of Queen Mary and King George V’s visit to India in 1911.
On her role, an excited Jodie, who was born in Peterborough to Jamaican parents, said: ‘Delving deeper into Anne Boleyn’s immense strengths while examining her fatal weaknesses and vulnerabilities, Eve’s scripts immediately captured my imagination.
‘In the hands of Lynsey Miller, the legend of this formidable queen and fierce mother will be seen as a deeply human story that is still so relevant for today.
‘I look forward to bringing my heart and spirit into this daring retelling of the fall of this iconic woman.’
Henry’s second wife, who was the white daughter of English nobility, is also one of the key causes of the English Reformation and the mother of Queen Elizabeth I.
Anne was famously beheaded in 1536 for high treason after failing to produce a male heir.
Her execution in the Tower of London followed the miscarriage of a male child, and increasing clashes with Thomas Cromwell – who is blamed for orchestrating the charges against her after engineering the break from the Catholic Church.
Court rumours also suggested that Anne’s forthright manner and intelligence angered courtiers.
She was politically astute and allied with Protestant reformers of the church, including Thomas before he turned on her.
Her killing immediately followed the death of Henry VIII’s first wife Catherine of Aragon. That event legally freed Henry to pursue marriage with Anne’s lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour, if his current wife were to die.
News of Jodie’s role came after months after she welcomed her daughter, Janie, nine months, with Fringe actor husband Joshua Jackson, 42.
In the October 2020 issue of Vogue, the British model confirmed her child’s name for the first time in print, and reflected on what it’s been like to parent a newborn in the midst of the pandemic.
The thespian explained: ‘I had to learn how to breastfeed and how to be a mum—it really worked out for my baby.’
The article reported that after giving birth in April, Jodie’s mother Hilda came to stay with them for three months amid the pandemic, and while protests began erupting around the world in the fight of social justice and racial equality.
The Queen & Slim star reflected that it was a ‘comfort’ to have both her mother and husband with her and the baby during that time, without the outside pressures of work and amid a time of change and upheaval.
New mum: The British model welcomed her daughter, Janie, now nine months, with Fringe actor husband Joshua Jackson, 42 (pictured November 2019)