Jan Hendrik Verstraten, writer and director of the “I Am Henry” British short film, is offering Anne Boleyn Files followers the chance to ask Fleur Keith, the actress who plays Anne Boleyn, questions about her role, what it’s like to play Anne, what research she did etc., anything you like really. Fleur will then answer questions in a blog post.
“I am Henry” is set in the hour of King Henry VIII’s death and one of the most dramatic and emotional scenes is when Anne Boleyn’s ghost appears to Henry VIII and gives an account of her last hours alive. The film is doing the festival circuit initially, but Jan hopes that it will be available for online download or on TV at some point in the future. Let’s show our support and interest! You can follow “I am Henry” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Please ask your question by leaving a comment on this post by the end of Friday 11th September.
Image: From “I am Henry” Instagram
What a thrilling opportunity, I always love Q and As with actors/actresses who play historical people 🙂 I hope you don’t mind me asking a few questions, if not just submit number 2 🙂
1) What was your main attraction to the role?
2) What are your views on each of the wives of Henry VIII and how did they inspire you in your role?
3) Did you focus your sole research on Anne or did you also explore the characters of other Tudor personalities. If so, how did it help you in your role? If not, why?
Thank you for such a great opportunity
Jenny
Hi
I am always intrigued as to how one approaches playing such a character, there are various different accounts of Anne, some of which are mostly slanderous propaganda, how did you go about finding the person behind the myths?
dear fleur keith
where did the filming of ann Boleyn take place?
did you enjoy playing the role?
will you take on another role similar to ann Boleyn in the future?
I wish you all the best for the future.
kind regards
Nicholas higgs
Did it feel De Ja Vue playing Anne Boleyn? A sadness doing it? A friend of mine played Anne at my university playing Anne Of A Thousand Days play- She felt a sense of Saddness saying lines also had dreams too.! Have you gone through this too?
Oh, this is so exciting! I can’t wait until the film is available to the general public. My question is:
How did you get inside the head of a woman who lived in a vastly different society (especially regarding the position and expectations of women) from our own time? I would think that would be very difficult–to find the 16th century mindset without imposing 21st century ideas on the character.
What was the most difficult part of this role?
Greetings.
My question is what is your favorite aspect of the role?
My question is if you could go back and say anything to Anne Boleyn, what would you say or ask? If you could, would you warn her of what was to come?
During your research, did you watch any other actresses performances of Anne to get a feel for how to play Anne.
Thanks for your time!
Thank you for letting us ask you questions. My question is: how has portraying Anne Boleyn influenced you in your daily life?
Thank you for letting us ask you questions. My question is: how has portraying Anne Boleyn influenced you in your daily life? What did you learn about life or history?
There have been so many portrayals of Anne on screen.What do you think you brought to the role that was different from everyone else?
I would like to ask if you felt like Q Anne was with you when you did play here? like could you feel like she was in the room with you? was it hard to play Anne that no one like and said a lot of bad things about her? i wish you all the luck and hope to see you in more rolls,
Miss Keith,
During your research, did you watch other actresses’ portrayals of Anne Boleyn, or did you want to “create” your own version, your own portrayal without influence from others?
What kind of research did you do for your role playing Queen Anne? How do you view her, a villain or a victim and why? Did you enjoy portraying her? I am interested in her and her life, and if you could offer any information on any books, files etc that I could read here in the USA it would greatly be appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Which portrayal of Anne Boleyn is your favorite and why? Did you watch any other Anne Boleyn films to prepare for this role?
I cannot wait to see this film! It looks like it’s going to be so different and full of raw emotion. Fleur Keith really has the look of Anne! My questions are: Did you have an interest in Anne before you did this film? What intrigued you the most about Anne Boleyn? Was it easy to imagine being in her shoes or was it a big challenge to relate to her?
1.What was the most surprising fact you discovered regarding Anne?
2. Do you feel Henry felt remorseful over executing Anne?
3. How did you prepare emotionally for the role?
4. Do you feel any of the accusations against Anne had validity?
5.Do you feel Anne’s mental stability was ever an issue in her downfall?
6. What do you feel was Anne’s greatest asset and liability?
Dear Fleur Keith ,
Have you always had an interest in the Tudor Dynasty ? Did Portraying Anne Boleyn spark your interest in sixteenth century England ?
Sincerely ,
Star
Hello Fluer,
My questions are>
1. How did it feel to snatch another woman’s husband when she had been gracious?
2. Protraying Anne, was there any “revenge” feeling to wretch a man’s heart when he was the one who broke your sister’s heart?
3. Did you believe that Anne was going downhill just by her own accord?
4. Playing Anne, was there any real life significant impact when you reach the part of “trying to be gracious” at the chopping stand and thinking about your daughter’s safety?
Thank you.
-1 What do you think was the main factor behind Anne’s downfall (e.g she was her own worse enemy, court factions, one specific person had it out for her?)
-2 What are your personal views on Anne’s love rivals, Katherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour, and how did this shape your take on Anne?
-3 Did you let personal feelings come between you and the role or did you try to stay neutral on the matter?
Hi Fleur, thank you for being such a good sport and answering our questions:
Name one thing you admire and one thing you despise/dislike about Anne Boleyn.
Hello! I am curious what drew you to the part of Anne Boleyn? Was it the history and intrigue? And what is one thing you found fascinating about Anne while studying her character?
Miss Keith,
Was the wardrobe of the time challenging? Did it allow you to become more like Anne?
Hello Fleur, congratu;taions on playing Anne and thank you for taking the time on Friday to answer our questions.
What do you feel is the best quality of Anne Boleyn?
What do you feel is the worst quality of Anne Boleyn?
What research did the writers and producers undertake and did you personally research the person of Anne for the role?
Do you speak 16th century French/Latin?
Hello,
My wife and I enjoy English broadcasting here in the states. We recently got the entire collection of Foyle’s war and love it. We also get PBS and broadcasting of various accounts of British monarchs.
My question for you would be based on some stark portrayals of these historical figures or events. Do you feel the depictions are fair to the historic figure or events or as I heard it said, spot on. As with any historic figure, many are quite tragic and caught up in the time they lived. How do you feel about Anne and your protrayal really cover her to your satisfaction? Here in the states I discovered too many biographic presentations are more for titillation than historic accuracy.
thank you,
David Leighr
Dear Fleur
Thank you for doing this Q&A and for taking the role of Anne. I have a bunch of questions, I hope you can answer them all or at least one, any
What were the challenges in adapting yourself to a woman of the 16 century? Does all the background info and our social background get in the way of the creation of a character?
Did you study other film or theatre performances of Anne? Which in your opinion was the best and most helpful?
Do you have a different perception of Anne now that you have “walked on her shoes” for a while? And of Henry?
Did you enjoy wearing historical costumes? Did they help you get into character?
Again, thanks a lot!
I this seems like a really great opportunity! So exciting!! haha
I recently completed some research on Anne Boleyn and the portrayal of her fall in period drama as part of my final year of school. I watched 10 period dramas and analysed how similar the period dramas portrayal was to contemporary historian opinion. I found that more recent ones were quite close in some elements to the contentions of historians and I’m just wondering how much that actually plays a part in the production process? Do the actors, directors, screenwriters etc. read the work of historians and try to incorporate some of the newer slightly different opinions of Anne Boleyn’s characterisation? Or is it mostly just generalised research say of more encyclopaedia type reference books and then the writers, actors and directors interpret the information into the final product that the audience sees? What was your method of preparation for the role? Did you watch other dramatisations? read books? read historian’s journals? watch horrible histories? watch a documentary? Just wondering if you could give a little insight into these questions that I’ve had and also… just your process of character development? I have studied drama as a final year subject so I would find this interesting on both a research level and also just a general interest level.
Thank you 🙂
Sarah
(Mount Beauty, Victoria, Australia)