Romola Garai on playing Mary Tudor in the historical drama ‘Becoming Elizabeth’

The drama ‘Becoming Elizabeth’ shines a light on the untold story of the tumultuous teen years of Queen Elizabeth, played by Alicia Von Rittberg. The series focuses on one of the most beloved monarchs in Western European history and the princess's struggles long before she ascended the throne of England. Helmed by Anya Reiss and starring Alicia Von Rittberg and Romola Garai, the series is set to make its Indian premiere on August 26 exclusively on Lionsgate Play.

While talking about her character Mary Tudor, Romola Garai said, “She’s forced into being a mixture of different things by circumstance. She was very religious, obviously, but she was an intelligent, sophisticated, sensitive, admirable woman. She could be really good fun. People often spoke about her being funny and clever, but she was forced into this horrific situation where her mother was cast out by her father when he met Anne Boleyn and excommunicated. She was whisked away from her mother, who she had a very close relationship with, at the age of 12, and she never saw her again.”

She further added, “She basically spent the rest of her life being either terrorised or having to constantly flatter her father, who was an abusive man, and constantly in fear for her life. That somewhat affects your personality, and so she could also be paranoid and highly strung. She had a propensity towards violence in an effort to retain control of situations, and that paranoia and fear came through later in her life."

Lionsgate Play will exclusively stream Becoming Elizabeth from 26th August onwards