5:57 pm
October 31, 2010
Actresses who have played AB on the silver screen in some capacity or another (this is in no way complete–please feel free to add to it): Just thought it might be interesting to see some other actresses besides those that we know and love off the top of our heads that have portrayed Anne and perhaps find some “new” but buried Anne material.
1) Natalie Dormer–The Tudors. Loved, loved, loved her portrayal of Anne.
2) Natalie Portman–The Other Boleyn Sister (Hollywood). Not my favorite portrayal of Anne, but I think it was probably spot on for the character of Anne that Philippa Gregory wrote. She still managed to move me to tears at her overly-dramatized execution.
3) Genevieve Bujold–Anne of the Thousand Days. Probably one of the best Annes ever.
4) Laura Cowie–Anne de Boleyn (1913, French) black and white silent film. I've never seen this one… She also played Anne in a 1911 black and white silent film adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VIII. IMDB says that it was released in the US in 1914 so there must be an English version out there somewhere.
5) Henny Porten–Anna Boleyn (1920, German) black and white silent film. An English version was released in 1921.
6) Jodhi May–The Other Boleyn Girl (BBC). My biggest pet peeve about this Anne is she didn't look like Anne Boleyn. I just felt like she was homely.
7) Sarah R Lotfi–Tudor Rose. This is a 7 minute short. Can't imagine what you can cover in 7 minutes, but it should be noted that Sarah R Lofti also wrote and directed this. I can't find it anywhere, but it might be interesting to watch if someone can source it.
8) Vanessa Redgrave–A Man for All Seasons (1966). This is primarily about Thomas More, but apparently Anne pops in at some point which makes sense, but I kind of get the impression she doesn't get much screen time. Maybe I'm wrong.
9) Helena Bonham Carter–Henry VIII 2-part series. Apparently here in the US it was picked up by PBS/Masterpiece Theatre so if you're looking for it, that might be a place to start.
That's all I have for now, but there are numerous portrayals of her on TV shows as well (including one on Saturday Night Live–weird).
"We mustn't let our passions destroy our dreams…"