Characters & Actors
The Duke of Norfolk
"He's very much the villain of the piece; every time you mention him to anybody they go, 'Oh, he's the bad guy!'" grins Kevin McKidd of his character, the duplicitous Duke of Norfolk. The Duke's thwarted ambitions lead to him conspiring with Mary Queen of Scots to depose Elizabeth, but he is found out and sent swiftly to the Tower.
Kevin reckons that with a little less machismo, Norfolk could have gone on enjoying a successful life at Court, "The thing that corrupts him is his own frustration and ambition. He tries to position himself as close to Elizabeth as he can, but his ambition is too obvious to her so she keeps him at a distance which, as time goes on, becomes more and more frustrating to him."
"Then she proves him wrong time and time again on political matters, which is humiliating; and he also has incredible disdain for what he sees as this disgusting affair going on between Elizabeth and Dudley. He has great contempt for that, so all that conspires to their relationship being particularly tense and terse. It's an interesting dynamic because they are very combative with each other."
Unfortunately for Norfolk, Elizabeth always wins, which eventually pushes him to desperate measures.
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