YOU’RE HISTORY
ANNABEL SCHOLEY, ELEANOR WORTHINGTON-COX AND MACKENZIE CROOK RETURN IN THE ANCIENT HISTORY DRAMA…
At a press conference to launch the new series of Sky Atlantic’s ancient Britain saga, the show’s creators admitted that concrete historical facts about Britain at the time of the Roman invasion are rather sparse. Luckily, that means the writers are free to use their imaginations in telling this story – and Inside TV can happily confirm that series two is bigger, bolder, crazier and even more satisfying than the first.
With the Romans having gained a foothold, life in Britannia is set to change forever, but the Druids and Celts hope that the prophecy surrounding young Cait can still save them. We heard from Eleanor Worthington-cox (Cait), Mackenzie Crook (Druid Veran) and Annabel Scholey (Queen Amena) about what lies ahead in this series…
Mackenzie, you play dual roles in this series – both Veran and his brother Harka. How was that?
Mackenzie When Jez [Butterworth, the co-creator] suggested it, my initial reaction was, “Yes, absolutely, what a challenge for any actor” – followed by crushing doubts! But you’d be a fool to turn that down. We saw Veran as a kind of Dalai Lama figure, who’d been chosen at a young age and always had this reverence around him, whereas his wayward brother seems as though he’s just come back from prison. Jez told me to look at a young David Bowie or Iggy Pop for inspiration.
Did you have to spend a lot of time in make-up?
Mackenzie Eventually, we got it down to about three hours for Veran – the same with Harka. It’s a very meditative process, seeing yourself slowly transformed into the character over the course of a few hours. I really enjoy it!
Cait is highly sought after because of the prophecy – what’s that like for her?
Eleanor This series, she’s starting to feel the gravity of what’s happening around her. It’s hard for someone that age to feel like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.
And she’s set to get a love interest, isn’t she?
Eleanor Yes, she is!
It’s a new aspect to the storyline, and I think it adds to who Cait is as a person rather than as a prophecy. It’s a coming-of-age thing for her – and is great for me because I started this when I was 14 and I’m 18 now, so I’ve essentially grown up as this character. To
see that on-screen is weird, but I guess it’s nice for my mum!
Amena’s involved with Roman general Aulus (David Morrissey) – does she really have feelings for him?
Annabel
She admires his passion and ambition, and there’s obviously an attraction there – bad boys, and all that! – but I think she’s still very much all for herself. She’s certainly not in love with him, but she does find him attractive. And it was brilliant for me to work with David – we got to do some great, sinister scenes together!