10 Big Names Who Appeared on ‘The Tudors,’ Which Ended 10 Years Ago
Screenwriter/producer Michael Hirst has made a career out of medieval dramas. He wrote the Elizabeth film series and is creator of the TV shows Vikings, Camelot, and The Tudors, the last of which aired its series finale a decade ago, on June 20, 2010.
The Tudors starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII, the English king known for his succession of marriages, his instigation of the English Reformation, his excommunication from the Catholic Church… and his tendency to have his allies and wives beheaded.
Many famous faces graced The Tudors’ four-season, 38-episode reign—established stars and rising talents alike—and we’ve rounded up 10 of them below in honor of the series finale’s 10th anniversary.
Henry Cavill (Charles Brandon)
Long before he was Superman or Geralt of Rivia, the star of The Witcher appeared in every season of The Tudors as Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Henry VIII’s brother-in-law.
Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn)
The Game of Thrones and Penny Dreadful: City of Angels star played Anne Boleyn, Queen of England and Henry’s ill-fated second wife, for the first two seasons.
Sam Neill (Cardinal Thomas Wolsey)
Neill, who plays Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise (including the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion), portrayed Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry’s almoner, in Season 1.
Peter O’Toole (Pope Paul III)
The late star of Lawrence of Arabia—who, coincidentally, played Henry VIII’s predecessor Henry II in Becket and The Lion in Winter—appeared in seven episodes, playing Pope Paul III, excommunicator of the king.
Joss Stone (Anne of Cleves)
The Grammy-winning R&B singer was Anne of Cleves, Henry’s fourth wife, across six episodes of the series’ last two seasons.
Perdita Weeks (Mary Boleyn)
Weeks, who’s currently starring as Juliet Higgins in Magnum P.I., portrayed Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne, in six episodes of the show’s first two seasons.
Joely Richardson (Catherine Parr)
The Nip/Tuck alum, most recently seen on The Blacklist, played Henry’s sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr—the third of his wives named Catherine!
Matt Ryan (Richard Pace)
This Welsh actor—who took his character John Constantine from a short-lived NBC show to the Arrowverse—appeared in three episodes as Richard Pace, secretary to Wolsey.
Allen Leech (Francis Dereham)
Best known as Tom Branson on Downton Abbey, Leech played Francis Dereham, a courtier whose romantic entanglement with Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, led to both his and her executions.
Colin O’Donoghue (Duke Philip of Bavaria)
The Hook of Once Upon a Time played Duke Philip of Bavaria, a suitor of Lady Mary Tudor, in one episode of Season 3.
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