I've been inspired by @theladyelizabeth's wonderful blog post ranking period drama depictions of Robert Dudley to finally post again on my own blog at adventuresinearlymodernity.com! This post/set of posts (I'm undecided yet) will probably be a ranking of twelve period drama depictions of Henry VIII, a follow-up of sorts to my posts ranking 12 period drama depictions of Anne Boleyn. I have very strong opinions on Henry's depictions in period drama and I don't think anyone's fully nailed his historical character, but some actors have definitely gotten way closer than others. In any case, here's my initial, tentative ranking of twelve of the most known Henry depictions. Let me know what y'all think in the notes, my inbox, or my DMs!
P.S. The percentages are purely vibes-based as of right now, and I put them in for cases like Jonathan Rhys Meyers' Henry. While I do think he is the third-best portrayal out there, that's because the rest of the Henry portrayals are notably worse at capturing the real king. In my opinion, his depiction is way below Damian Lewis and I needed a way to convey that disparity which would otherwise be elided by a simple ranking.
Tagging some people below who might find this intriguing:
@theladyelizabeth @fideidefenswhore @jezabelofthenorth @period-dramallama @catherinesboleyn @katharinepar @isabelleneville