Another televised take on the Boleyn family is coming to BBC Two this August, just two months after Channel 5’s Anne Boleyn.
The ambitious Queen Consort of England is getting the BBC treatment in The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family. The epic three-part series launches this Friday, 13 August 2021. It charts the rise and fall of the Boleyn family under Henry VIII in a part-drama, part-documentary format.
We’ve seen many interpretations of the Boleyn family over the years. Hollywood has taken on the family with The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). Hit drama series The Tudors (2007) also explored the scandalous Boleyns, making stars of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Natalie Dormer, pre-Game of Thrones.
Will the new BBC drama series bring a fresh offering? Let’s take a look at the actors making up the cast of The Boleyns.
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Meet the cast of The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family
As previously mentioned, the new BBC series will take a docudrama format. This means that actors playing out the real life drama will be interspersed with historians explaining the events.
Here are the confirmed actors for The Boleyns:
- Rafaëlle Cohen as Anne Boleyn
- Elizabeth McCafferty as Mary Boleyn
- Sam Retford as George Boleyn
- Max Dowler as Thomas Boleyn
- Philip Brodie as Thomas Cromwell
- Gabriel Constantin as Jean Du Bellay
- Kaisa Hammarlund as Elizabeth I
More on the cast of actors starring as the Boleyn family
Max Dowler heads up the family as Thomas Boleyn, the future father-in-law to King Henry VIII. British actor Max has starred in the likes of Line of Duty, Emmerdale, and more recently, I Hate Suzie.
Starring as the Boleyn’s only son, George, is Sam Retford. The 22-year-old actor is known for portraying Cory Wilson on the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge.
French actress Rafaëlle Cohen, 36, is taking on the role of Anne Boleyn. This is a fitting choice as the former Queen Consort of England was educated in the French courts. Rafaëlle has starred in the likes of Berlin, I Love You (2019) and Le Bal des Vampires, the musical directed by Roman Polanski at Paris’ Theatre Mogador from 2014 to 2015.
Actress Elizabeth McCafferty will be taking on the role made famous by Scarlett Johansson. She will play Mary Boleyn in the BBC series. This is Elizabeth’s biggest role to date, having previously held uncredited roles in the likes of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016) and Rocketman (2019).
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Which historians are featured in the BBC docudrama?
Historians will feature alongside the actors. Here are some of the experts who will pop up throughout the series:
- Dr Owen Emmerson
- Lauren Johnson
- Leanda de Lisle
- Dr Lauren Mackay
- Dr Elizabeth Norton
- Dr Estelle Paranque
- Dr Linda Porter
- Gareth Russell
- Dr Nicola Clark
Tune in to watch the three-part series from Friday, 13 August 2021. Episodes will be available to stream after airing on the BBC iPlayer.
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