“Gird your loins for the tragic tale of Lady Jane Grey, the young Tudor noblewoman who was Queen of England for nine days and then beheaded, back in good ol’ 1553. Actually… f*ck that.”
My Lady Jane, the new Prime Video series, is retelling history the way it should have happened: the damsel in distress saves herself. This is an epic tale of true love and high adventure set in an alt-universe of action, history, fantasy, comedy and steamy romance. Buckle up.
The cast of the new Amazon Prime series “My Lady Jane” (2024). Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.
A Radical Retelling
Inspired by the best-selling book, My Lady Jane is a radical retelling of English royal history, in which King Henry VIII’s son Edward does not die of tuberculosis, Lady Jane Grey is not beheaded, and neither is her rascal of a husband Guildford. At the center of this rollicking new series is the brilliant and headstrong Jane who is unexpectedly crowned queen overnight and finds herself the target of nefarious villains coming for the crown (and her head). It’s an epic tale of true love and high adventure, where the damsel in distress saves herself, her true love, and then the Kingdom.
The Cast
Newcomer Emily Bader leads the cast in the titular role of Jane Grey. Starring opposite her is Edward Bluemel (Killing Eve) as Guildford Dudley. Jordan Peters (Pirates) plays King Edward. Dominic Cooper (Preacher) plays Lord Seymour, and Jim Broadbent (The Duke) plays the Duke of Leicester, Jane’s uncle. Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Crown, Pennyworth) plays Lady Frances Grey, Lady Jane’s mother. A brilliant and permanently dissatisfied schemer. Likes: Pliant men and daughters who do what they’re told, winning. Dislikes: rebels, financial dependence on ancient relatives, hugs.
Rob Brydon (The Trip, The Huntsman: Winter’s War) meanwhile stars as Lord Dudley, Lady Jane’s prospective father-in-law. He is a family man who just wants the Crown for his progeny. Is that a crime? Likes: manipulating, massive codpieces, a jaunty pearl earring. Dislikes: being manipulated, having errant sons, and having office rivals. The irresistible ‘ro-mantasy’ series inspired by the best-selling novel will have all eight episodes premiere exclusively on Prime Video on June 27.
Rob Brydon as Lord Dudley and Henry Ashton as Stan Dudley in “My Lady Jane” (2024). Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.
Interview
Cinema Scholars’ own Glen Dower sat down with actors Rob Brydon and Anna Chancellor to discuss their new historical ‘retelling’ series My Lady Jane. They spoke about the elaborate costumes needed for a period piece set in the 1500s, how Anna approached playing the ‘wicked’ Lady Frances Gray, and the juicy and over-the-top lines both actors had to recite, among other topics.
(Edited for content and clarity)
Glen Dower:
Mr. Brydon, I’ve been a big fan of years all the way back to Marion and Jeff, all the way through to My Lady Jane.
Rob Brydon:
Thank you, thank you.
Glen Dower:
And just one of the aspects, when I see you in a project like this, is ‘I wonder what voice is he going to do for this? Is he going to be putting on a bit of Roger Moore, a bit of Ronnie Corbett even perhaps?’ For Lord Dudley, how did you arrive at that specific accent? And did the amazing costume help in any way?
Rob Brydon:
Well, I can’t take any credit for the costumes, but, well, I rather like ‘this sort of voice’ (puts on a softly spoken London accent). I read the script and as I was reading it, I tried out a little as Roger, or I might do a little bit as Ronnie. I don’t know. But I just thought that it was within my palette…
Anna Chancellor:
A bit ‘ding-dong’…
Rob Brydon:
Well, it’s a little bit, I suppose a little bit of Leslie Phillips, but I suppose it’s all good. Well, I just picture him and then you see him and you start to speak in the mirror and you look, and if that’s the sort of voice I’m comfortable with, we all have a limited number of things we can do. So I thought that would work for this character. So I’m glad you like it. I do think it’s a nice fit with the character.
Glen Dower:
Absolutely. I’m Ms. Chancellor here as well. Wow. So of course we know you from Four Weddings, Pride and Prejudice, and The Crown. Now we know you as Lady Grey in this. She is of course Lady Jane’s mother…but also acts like a wicked stepmother.
Anna Chancellor:
Yes!
Glen Dower:
But she also, as she says, plays ‘The Game’. How did you approach playing her as well because, obviously, she wants the best for her family, but does it in a really almost appalling way?
Anna Chancellor:
I think it came naturally to me! I think I thought it was funny and it was so well written and it’s not that she says anything that you don’t understand. You get it. You might not approve of it. But as actors, we’re not here to judge. We’re not here to think, oh, I don’t approve of the way she’s treating her children. Or you don’t think, oh, I want the audience to like me. I kind of like it when they don’t! It’s fun. I think that it was really on the page.
Rob Brydon:
Anna is my favorite performance in the whole show. And I will say I’ve never liked anything else that she’s done…
Anna Chancellor:
That’s my reputation…
Rob Brydon:
…it’s really stopped me in my tracks. It’s made me ask myself a lot of questions about my own prejudices and it’s really pulled me up short.
Anna Chancellor:
He’s bad!
Glen Dower:
For sure, and both of you really do get the pick of the lines across the whole series. Any that jumps out of you’ll remember and stay with you, do you think?
Anna Chancellor:
I like saying that fellatio is my best skill! That’s a great part. That’s stayed with me indeed.
Rob Brydon:
I don’t doubt it for a second. And I’ve heard it from so many people! There’s a line in that first episode when you Anna, come round with Jane, and I’m saying, ‘For the music, we’re thinking about the French. I mean such filthy beast lovers…but oh, the tunes.’
Anna Chancellor:
Oh, how brilliant.
Rob Brydon:
Do you remember that? It’s on a clip somewhere at the moment. Somebody showed it to me so I remembered it. So there’s that line. That’s great.
Emily Bader as Lady Jane Grey, Robyn Betteridge as Margaret Grey, Isabella Brownson as Katherine Grey and Anna Chancellor as Frances Grey in “My Lady Jane” (2024). Photo courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.
Glen Dower:
That’s in your very first scene when you are in wedding planner mode in episode one. It’s when you first meet you.
Rob Brydon:
Yeah, yeah! I get a nice speech at a wedding where I’m giving a talk and I get some nice lines. I mean, they’re all the way through.
Anna Chancellor:
I mean it, it’s a gift really. You have these lines and you read them and you are laughing and you can’t wait to get to work to say them, and you just hope that you can do it as well as they have imagined it.
Rob Brydon:
But it is also another aspect of that without wishing to sound like a work-shy lackey, is that it’s the size of the roles we’re in. I am number seven on the call sheet on this, and I think it’s kind of the sweet spot because Emily is in every day! My God, she worked hard. We would waltz in, I was in twice a week, three times a week. So I’m always enjoying it. I’ve got great lines to say, but I can have a life outside the show because it was a long shoot. It was months and months. And then when the script and when your part is so juicy and delicious in many ways, you don’t get tired of it. It’s the perfect job in many ways.
Anna Chancellor:
We’re very lucky.
Glen Dower:
And the audience is very lucky too. Well, thank you so much for your time folks. It’s been a real, real pleasure.
Rob Brydon:
Bye! Thank you very much!
Anna Chancellor:
Thank you, bye Glen.
My Lady Jane had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2024, and is expected to stream on Amazon Prime Video on June 27, 2024.
