Harriet Walter and Timothy Spall Join ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’
The BBC has announced some more casting for ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light‘, as Harriet Walter, Timothy Spall, and more, join the second and final season of the critically acclaimed drama, based on the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s multi-award-winning trilogy.
Eagerly awaited and years in the making, ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ will trace the final four years of Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Cromwell is as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a diplomat and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age. The second season picks up straight after the end of season one.
May 1536. Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, is dead. As the axe drops, Thomas Cromwell emerges from the bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour.
Cromwell, a man with only his wits to rely on, has no great family to back him, and no private army. Navigating the moral complexities that accompany the exercise of power in this brutal and bloody time, Cromwell is caught between his desire to do what is right and his instinct to survive. But in the wake of Henry VIII having executed his queen, no one is safe.
Despite rebellion at home, traitors plotting abroad and the threat of invasion testing Henry’s regime to breaking point, Cromwell’s robust imagination sees a new country in the mirror of the future. All of England lies at his feet, ripe for innovation and religious reform. But as fortune’s wheel turns, Cromwell’s enemies are gathering in the shadows. The inevitable question remains: how long can anyone survive under Henry’s cruel and capricious gaze?
Eagerly awaited and years in the making, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will trace the final four years of Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Cromwell is as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a diplomat and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age.
Harriet Walter (Killing Eve, Succession) joins the cast to play Lady Margaret Pole, with Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, Spencer) as the Duke of Norfolk and Harry Melling (The Pale Blue Eye, The Queen’s Gambit) as Thomas Wriothesley.
Also joining ‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ are Alex Jennings (The Crown, This Is Going to Hurt) as Stephen Gardiner, Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Undeclared War, Legends of Tomorrow) as Bess Oughtred, Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack, The Fifth Estate) as Lady Jane Rochford, Charlie Rowe (Rocketman, Vanity Fair) as Gregory Cromwell, Corentin Fila (Being 17, Notre-Dame) as Christophe, Tom Mothersdale (Bodies, Culprits) as Richard Riche, Karim Kadjar (Leave to Remain, Mike) as Eustache Chapuys, Lucy Russell (A Spy Among Friends, Atlantic Crossing) as Lady Anne Shelton, Will Tudor (Industry, The Ipcress File) as Edward Seymour, Viola Prettejohn (The Crown, The Nevers) as Mary Fitzroy, Thomas Arnold (A Spy Among Friends, War & Peace) as Hans Holbein, Jordan Kouamé (Malpractice, Dope Girls) as Martin The Gaoler, Agnes O’Casey (Lies We Tell, Ridley Road) as Lady Margaret Douglas, Cecilia Appiah (Hijack, The Chelsea Detective) as Nan Seymour, Ellie de Lange (The Serpent, Arcadia) as Jenneke, Hubert Burton (Living, Jekyll and Hyde) as Thomas Howard the Lesser, Pip Carter (Spectre,1917) as Sir Geoffrey Pole, Josef Altin (Top Boy, Game of Thrones) as Thomas Avery, Sarah Priddy (Degenerates, Six Years Gone) as Lady Margery Seymour, Hannah Khalique-Brown (Barbie, The Undeclared War) as Dorothea, Amir El-Masry (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, SAS Rogue Heroes) as Thomas Wyatt, German Segal (The Undeclared War, The Red Ghost) as Olisleger, Summer Richards (Wild Bill, When She Was Good) as Catherine Howard, and Dana Herfurth (Love Addicts, One Trillion Dollars) as Anne of Cleves.
“Peter Kosminsky and our brilliant casting director Robert Sterne and his team have brought together a glorious cast with many of the original cast returning alongside some very exciting new faces,” said Colin Callender, CEO of Playground.
Kate Phillips as Jane Seymour, Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey and Lilit Lesser, who will be playing Princess Mary in Wolf Hall The Mirror and the Light. (Lilit Lesser image: Asia Werbel)
Academy Award winner Mark Rylance will return to his BAFTA-winning role of Thomas Cromwell, with Emmy Award winner Damian Lewis returning as King Henry VIII, alongside Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey. Also returning are Kate Phillips as Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour and Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Also returning from season one are Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit, The Maze Runner) as Rafe Sadler, Joss Porter (The Undeclared War, Humans) as Richard Cromwell, James Larkin (Black Mirror, McMafia) as Master Treasurer Fitzwilliam, Richard Dillane (Argo, Pennyworth) as the Duke of Suffolk, Will Keen (Operation Mincemeat, His Dark Materials) as Archbishop Cranmer, and Hannah Steele (The Night Manager, Black Mirror) as Mary Shelton.
“Casting Director Robert Sterne has done a truly extraordinary job assembling the most stunning cast with which I’ve ever had the privilege to work,” said Director Peter Kosminsky. “Led by Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, they’ve been drawn by the quality of Hilary Mantel’s writing and Peter Straughan’s adroit adaptation. Shooting in Tudor locations all over England and Wales, it is our privilege to bring Hilary’s last novel to an international television audience.”
‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ is a Playground and Company Pictures co-production for the BBC and Masterpiece. The series will be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights. The series is directed by Peter Kosminsky, adapted by Peter Straughan, and produced by Lisa Osborne. Executive Producers are Colin Callender and Noëlette Buckley for Playground, Peter Kosminsky, Lucy Richer for the BBC, and Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece.
If you wish to catch up, ‘Wolf Hall’ season one is available to watch on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel in the US.
‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light‘ will begin filming across the UK soon, and will air on the BBC in the US and PBS Masterpiece in the USA. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
