King & Conqueror: James Norton on 'tears', his Battle of Hastings 'privilege' and 'exciting' William backstory
Actors James Norton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Eddie Marsan talk to Lynn Rusk about historical drama King & Conqueror
In 1066, the Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings reshaped the course of British history.
Edward the Confessor’s death sparked a succession crisis, with three contenders for the throne: Harold Godwinson, William of Normandy, and Harald Hardrada.
The decisive battle at Hastings ended with William the Conqueror’s triumph over Harold, crowning him the first Norman king of England.
Although this pivotal chapter is a staple of school history lessons, it has received surprisingly few on-screen portrayals.
King & Conqueror, an eight-part historical drama starring James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy, aims to change that.
Norton, 40, who has also co-produced the series says: “1,000 years later so much of our language, our legal system, our philosophy, our art, it’s all underpinned by this massive moment in history.
“So it’s kind of astounding that no one’s told this story before and I think that we certainly felt that throughout the telling of it.
“I almost couldn’t believe that we were the ones who got this incredible privilege to tell this story, which is a big, epic moment in our history lessons.”
The series follows the lives of Harold and William and their respective wives Edith Swan-neck portrayed by Emily Beecham and Matilda of Flanders played by Clémence Poésy in the years leading up to the Battle of Hastings.
King & Conqueror portrays the pair having a tumultuous relationship who begin as friends before becoming foes.
“What was really exciting when this idea was conceived was that, while most people know about the battle, far fewer know about the 20 or 30 years leading up to it, when William and Harold were actually friends, and their lives were intertwined through their wives, Matilda and Edith,” explains the London-born actor.
“They had this twisty, turny story, and these relationships and these people falling in and out of love, and at the heart of it are these two men who became friends and then adversaries.
“That piece of history, I think I and most of the people don’t know anything about, so that’s why we’re so excited about the show, because it’s the first time.”
Norton, who is best known for his portrayal of Tommy Lee Royce in BBC drama Happy Valley, says he has never put so much work into a single project before.
“We’ve been developing this for over seven years. I think we worked out that the idea originally came to us in 2019, and it’s the sheer amount of time, work, blood, sweat, and tears that have just gone into it,” he says.
“I was over every draft, every note session, every twist and turn in the kind of tone, story, and character-building of this world. The stakes are high and they’ve never been as high.
“I’ve never put so much time and work into one project, I don’t think in my whole life.”
Game Of Thrones star Coster-Waldau says “We know the consequences of what would happen without William the Conqueror, we probably wouldn’t have King Charles III today.
“It’s such a compelling story about these two men who at first you think that could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and then it becomes something quite different.
“I didn’t know anything about this history, and once I started doing my research and reading about it, I was really surprised by how different Europe looked back then and the influence of the Normans and the Vikings, how great that was at that time. I love history, I find it very interesting.”
The 55-year-old Danish actor, who also directed an episode, says he was happy to bring his on-screen battlefield experience from playing Jaime Lannister to the series.
“The good thing about having experiences is, you can work with the stunt team, I can suggest stuff. I’ve done this my whole career,” he says.
“I know how to do it. So that just helps in terms of finding ways to make the fights unique and personal in style, so we avoid generic fighting if [we] can.
“It’s just about using your experience to be as helpful as you can.”
Eddie Marsan, who stars as Edward the Confessor in the series, says he knew very little about his character beforehand but was drawn to his religious obsession.
“I find people who have a kind of religious obsession fascinating,” says the 57-year-old London-born actor.
“So I was really interested in playing that. He had a lot of faith and a lot of fear, those two things and the dichotomy of those is what attracted me to playing him.”
“In this story he is so powerless which I found really interesting. I’m a member of the British Humanist Association.
“But I find religious thought fascinating, why people believe what they believe, and why they choose that narrative.
“And he was choosing a narrative, I believe, and I don’t think it will be all religious people [who] do it, but Edward in this story is choosing a narrative based on desperation, and that is fascinating.”
Marsan jokes that he thinks King Edward was possibly asexual and would have chosen to be a monk if he hadn’t married.
“You’ve got James and Nikolaj and they’re sexy and macho and then there’s this asexual man in the middle who can’t make his mind up. I think that makes great drama.”
“It’s about men’s pursuit of power, and when ego gets involved, it can be a very dangerous pursuit,” adds Norton.
“So not only did it feel absolutely, very important, vital in terms of looking back and honouring this moment in history, but also it feels a very relevant story as well.”
King & Conqueror begins on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday, August 24, with the second episode on BBC One on Monday August 25 at 9.30pm.