It's not every day that a 400-year-old love story sweeps the Internet. But social media was full of questions about King James I and his companion, George Villiers, when Starz announced the new series “Mary and George,” in which Tony Curran and Nicholas Galitzine play the 17th-century king and the man who rose to the rank of king. The pinnacle of Jacobite society.
Like its predecessor, “The Tudors,” produced in the late 2000s, British playwright D. C. Moore's new seven-part drama is full of court intrigue, murderous plots and dramatic love scenes. Yet even its most lavish elements are inspired by historical novels, taken largely from Benjamin Woolley's 2017 book, The Regicide, which details the real-life relationships between James I, George, and his mother, Mary Villiers (played by Julianne Moore). (He is also a co-producer of the new series).
“You can't believe what happens to this group of people. Life is really stranger than fiction sometimes,” Galitzine, who has been on a meteoric rise since starring in 2023's “Red, White & Royal Blue,” told NBC News in An interview with Curran ahead of the series' US premiere on Friday.
Both Galitzine and his co-star were first introduced to the Villiers duo's story when they received the script from D.C. Moore's (no relation to Julien). The actors said that after delving into Woolley's book and some of the correspondence between James I and George, they both became fascinated by the story of the king in need of companionship and the man who filled his cup.
“I knew a lot about King James (son of Mary, Queen of Scots) being from Scotland, but there were elements of his character and his monarchy that I knew nothing about, and I didn't really know about the relationship.” Between the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham, Curran he said, referring to the titles the king eventually bestowed on George and Mary.
“Particularly with regard to King James, what I found so compelling and profound was his sense of loneliness,” he added, referring to a conversation with Woolley in which the writer described the king as having “fed on fear.” “After his father was assassinated, his mother was executed – a lot of those traumatic elements from his past as a child definitely seep into his future. There's an old saying that goes, 'The head that wears the crown sleeps heavy,' and I think with James, that was a big part of that.” “.
When the series begins, the newly widowed Mary already has a plan in motion to use her second son's charm and cunning to raise the family's status through the ranks of English society. To obtain funds for the journey through a new marriage, Marie sends Georges to France to learn the ways of the world under the tutelage of a culturally and sexually sophisticated tutor. The once naive teenager returns as a braggart young man ready to be brought to court, and Mary hopes he will catch the attention of King James I.
But attracting the king's attention proves to be no easy task, as a horde of male suitors are literally lining up to oust his current favourite, the Earl of Somerset. In addition to fierce rivals, the mother-son duo must overcome James I's suspicious nature, scheming royal advisors and scheming family secrets to win the King's favor. But all their maneuvers do not come without a cost, as every step they take up the court's ladder threatens to lead to a harder and potentially fatal fall.
“There's frivolity, there's fun, there's a debauched nature. But in a very short space of time, in seven episodes, it gets very dark, very quickly. Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Curran said, playfully pointing at his younger co-star. “That certainly was the case with this man.”
Inspired by the events that marked the end of the reign of James I and the beginning of the reign of his son, Charles I, Mary and George takes a dark turn in subsequent episodes, as the Villiers family seizes power and the king becomes vulnerable to his beloved. You start getting consequences in court and out of court. But the series never loses the outrageous energy that has defined it from the beginning, and is inspired by the art, irreverent humor and colorful language of the Jacobean era.
“If you look at the drama of the era, there are big questions of power and politics. But also, every Shakespearean play had a comedian come in and do some work. D.C. Moore, whose credits include television writing, told NBC News. High and low have always existed together.”
Providing examples of pub-goers singing about George's role at court and the King's style of irreverent banter, the writer added: 'The Duke of Buckingham was colloquially known in pubs at the time as 'the Duke of F–ing-'ham.' King James called his female pack while he was hunting – you know. So, if we had a kind of subdued Brief Encounter style, or a softer period drama, I don't think we could have been honest about who these characters were.
Although the playwright has said his goal was to capture the feel and language of early 17th-century England, he and the stars of the series are quick to point out that “Mary & George” isn't a completely honest description of the time. Moore noted that he used a contemporary lens to explain how the Villiers achieved their meteoric rise, taking certain liberties with the plot and character portrayal to enhance the entertainment and dramatic richness of the series.
“I would say almost every episode is grouped around 10 to 20 real things that happened, but sometimes, you have to sew it all together [the characters] “In a story they weren't necessarily involved in,” he said, noting how Mary was portrayed as having a direct hand in the plots that paved the way for George to the king's bedroom.
While he may have made some leaps in terms of Mary's plans for social climbing, the playwright insists that his depiction of the relationship between James I and George holds true to the historical record – a point that may surprise a fair number of viewers as they witness the characters' frequent erotic encounters.
“It was no secret at the time what was going on between them. He said: 'It's difficult because people didn't want to write about the king, because they might get their heads cut off, but in general, I think it's hard to look at this period and not see that this is something he knew about.' Everyone,” referring to correspondence between the men discussing the secret tunnel between their rooms, as well as accounts of ambassadors who visited the court of James I.
“They did not have a contemporary mentality, but they did not have a Victorian mentality,” he said of the citizens of Jacobite England. “They had a less clear sense of sexual identities, and I think they were probably less reticent about men sleeping together than you might imagine. So we have to be really careful about re-presenting morality that wasn't there.”
While D. C. Moore may have turned to scholarship, including Thomas B. Young's King James and the History of Homosexuality, to inspire his depiction of the love affair between men, bringing this dynamic to life on screen may have been an affair less favored by books.
“The way I approached it was: It's not a story about a weird relationship; It's more about, as a human being, what are my intentions? “From the documents and correspondence I read, there was a deep feeling of love and tenderness for this man, and I believe it was mutual,” Curran said. “Obviously there was sensuality as well, but in the end, I think it was about loving someone.”
Like Curran — a prolific British television and film actor, whose breakout role was playing a gay plumber named Lenny in the BBC series This Life — Galitzine began his career portraying an eccentric character. But the sheer amount of on-screen same-sex relationships in “Mary & George,” ranging from intimate embraces to furniture-smashing acrobatics to full-blown orgies, was something new for him and his co-star. So instead of drawing on his own experience, the up-and-coming leading man channeled something deeper to sell their hot and heavy relationship.
“Tony and I got along very naturally as people. We loved working with each other, and I think we loved the characters we were playing,” Galitzine said. “And we took care to portray their relationship on screen in a really real and honest way.”
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