# The Hollow Crown (TV series)

The Hollow Crown is a series of British television film adaptations of William Shakespeare's history plays.
The first series is an adaptation of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, the Henriad: Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, starring Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston. Olivier Award winners Rupert Goold, Richard Eyre and Thea Sharrock directed the telefilms, which were produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges for BBC Two and executive produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris under Neal Street Productions in association with NBCUniversal. The first series, which aired in the United Kingdom in 2012, received positive reviews from critics. Ben Whishaw and Simon Russell Beale won British Academy Television Awards for Leading actor and Supporting actor for their performances as Richard II and Falstaff, and Jeremy Irons was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor for his role as Henry IV. The first episode, Richard II, was nominated for the Best Single Drama at the BAFTA TV Awards.
The BBC aired the concluding series in 2016 as The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses, a reference to the series of English civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugh Bonneville, Judi Dench, Sophie Okonedo and Tom Sturridge. The plays were produced in 2015 by the same team that made the first series of films but were directed by the former artistic director of Royal Court Theatre and Olivier Award winner, Dominic Cooke. They are based on Shakespeare's first tetralogy: Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, Henry VI, Part 3 and Richard III. The adaptation presents Henry VI in two parts, incorporating all three Henry VI plays. Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Leading Actor and The Wars of the Roses was nominated for Best Mini-Series.
The title of the series is taken from a line in Richard II:
   For within the hollow crown That rounds the mortal temples of a king Keeps Death his court...

## Cast

List indicators:
* A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
* Italics indicates a non-speaking cameo
| Role | The Hollow Crown (2012) | The Hollow Crown (2012) | The Hollow Crown (2012) | The Hollow Crown (2012) | The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016) | The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016) | The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses (2016) |
| Role | Richard II | Henry IV, Part 1 | Henry IV, Part 2 | Henry V | Henry VI, Part 1 | Henry VI, Part 2 | Richard III |
| King Richard II | Ben Whishaw | | | | | | |
| King Henry IV Henry Bolingbroke | Rory Kinnear | Jeremy Irons | Jeremy Irons | | | | |
| Queen Isabella | Clémence Poésy | | | | | | |
| John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster | Patrick Stewart | | | | | | |
| Duke of York | David Suchet | | | | | | |
| Duchess of York | Lindsay Duncan | | | | | | |
| Duke of Aumerle later Duke of York | Tom Hughes | | | Paterson Joseph | | | |
| Earl of Northumberland | David Morrissey | Alun Armstrong | Alun Armstrong | | | | |
| Lady Northumberland | | | Niamh Cusack | | | | |
| Thomas Mowbray Duke of Norfolk | James Purefoy | | | | | | |
| King Henry V Prince Hal | | Tom Hiddleston | Tom Hiddleston | Tom Hiddleston | | | |
| Sir John Falstaff | | Simon Russell Beale | Simon Russell Beale | Simon Russell Beale | | | |
| Mistress Nell Quickly | | Julie Walters | Julie Walters | Julie Walters | | | |
| Mistress Doll Tearsheet | | Maxine Peake | Maxine Peake | Maxine Peake | | | |
| Bardolph | | Tom Georgeson | Tom Georgeson | Tom Georgeson | | | |
| Ned Poins | | David Dawson | David Dawson | | | | |
| Sir Henry Percy Harry Hotspur | | Joe Armstrong | | | | | |
| Earl of Worcester | | David Hayman | | | | | |
| Lady Kate Percy | | Michelle Dockery | Michelle Dockery | | | | |
| Sir Edmund Mortimer | | Harry Lloyd | | | Michael Gambon | | |
| Prince John of Lancaster | | Henry Faber | Henry Faber | | | | |
| Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester | | Will Attenborough | Will Attenborough | | Hugh Bonneville | | |
| Earl of Westmorland | | James Laurenson | James Laurenson | James Laurenson | | | |
| Ancient Pistol | | | Paul Ritter | Paul Ritter | | | |
| Owen Glendower | | Robert Pugh | | | | | |
| Lady Mortimer | | Alex Clatworthy | | | | | |
| Justice Robert Shallow | | | David Bamber | | | | |
| Lord Chief Justice | | | Geoffrey Palmer | | | | |
| Duke of Exeter | | | | Anton Lesser | Anton Lesser | Anton Lesser | Anton Lesser |
| Captain Fluellen | | | | Owen Teale | | | |
| Montjoy | | | | Jérémie Covillault | | | |
| King Charles VI of France | | | | Lambert Wilson | | | |
| Louis, the Dauphin | | | | Edward Akrout | | | |
| Princess Katherine | | | | Mélanie Thierry | | | |
| Alice | | | | Geraldine Chaplin | | | |
| Chorus | | | | John Hurt | | | |
| King Henry VI | | | | | Tom Sturridge | Tom Sturridge | Tom Sturridge |
| Queen Margaret | | | | | Sophie Okonedo | Sophie Okonedo | Sophie Okonedo |
| Eleanor Cobham Duchess of Gloucester | | | | | Sally Hawkins | | |
| Richard Plantagenet Duke of York | | | | | Adrian Dunbar | Adrian Dunbar | |
| Cecily Duchess of York | | | | | Lucy Robinson | Lucy Robinson | Judi Dench |
| Bishop of Winchester | | | | | Samuel West | | |
| Earl of Warwick | | | | | Stanley Townsend | Stanley Townsend | |
| Earl of Somerset | | | | | Ben Miles | Ben Miles | |
| Duke of Suffolk | | | | | Jason Watkins | Jason Watkins | |
| Lord Talbot | | | | | Philip Glenister | | |
| Joan of Arc | | | | | Laura Frances-Morgan | | |
| King Richard III Richard Plantagenet | | | | | | Benedict Cumberbatch | Benedict Cumberbatch |
| Queen Elizabeth | | | | | | Keeley Hawes | Keeley Hawes |
| Edmund Plantagenet | | | | | | Angus Imrie | |
| King Edward IV Edward Plantagenet | | | | | | Geoffrey Streatfeild | Geoffrey Streatfeild |
| George Plantagenet Duke of Clarence | | | | | | Sam Troughton | Sam Troughton |
| Lord Clifford | | | | | | Kyle Soller | |
| Earl of Westmorland | | | | | | Richard Lynch | |
| Duke of Buckingham | | | | | | Ben Daniels | Ben Daniels |
| Queen Anne | | | | | | Phoebe Fox | Phoebe Fox |
| Lord Hastings | | | | | | James Fleet | James Fleet |
| King Louis XI of France | | | | | | Andrew Scott | |
| King Henry VII Earl of Richmond | | | | | | Andrew Davies | Luke Treadaway |
| Catesby | | | | | | | Paul Bazely |

## Episodes
### Series 1 (2012)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Richard II" | Rupert Goold | Rupert Goold & Ben Power | 30 June 2012 (2012-06-30) |
| 2 | 2 | "Henry IV, Part 1" | Richard Eyre | Richard Eyre | 7 July 2012 (2012-07-07) |
| 3 | 3 | "Henry IV, Part 2" | Richard Eyre | Richard Eyre | 14 July 2012 (2012-07-14) |
| 4 | 4 | "Henry V" | Thea Sharrock | Ben Power & Thea Sharrock | 21 July 2012 (2012-07-21) |

### Series 2 (2016)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 5 | 1 | "Henry VI, Part 1" | Dominic Cooke | Dominic Cooke & Ben Power | 7 May 2016 (2016-05-07) |
| 6 | 2 | "Henry VI, Part 2" | Dominic Cooke | Dominic Cooke & Ben Power | 14 May 2016 (2016-05-14) |
| 7 | 3 | "Richard III" | Dominic Cooke | Dominic Cooke & Ben Power | 21 May 2016 (2016-05-21) |

## Production

The BBC scheduled the screening of Shakespeare's history plays as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, a celebration of British culture coinciding with the 2012 Summer Olympics. Sam Mendes signed up as executive producer to adapt all four plays in September 2010. He was joined as executive producer by Pippa Harris (both representing Neal Street Productions), Rupert Ryle-Hodges as producer, Gareth Neame (NBCUniversal), and Ben Stephenson (BBC).
Parts of the series were filmed in Kent at Squerryes Court and Penshurst Place.
The concluding series of plays were produced in 2015 by the same team that made the first series and were directed by Dominic Cooke. Richard III was played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Executive producer Pippa Harris stated, "The critical and audience reaction to The Hollow Crown series set the bar high for Shakespeare on screen, and Neal Street (Productions) is delighted to be making the concluding part of this great history cycle. By filming the 'Henry VI' plays as well as 'Richard III,' we will allow viewers to fully appreciate how such a monstrous tyrant could find his way to power, bringing even more weight and depth to this iconic character." The production returned to Kent for The Wars of the Roses, filming at Dover Castle, Leeds Castle and Penshurst Place.

### Faithfulness of adaptation

The first series is largely faithful to the plays, although the text is abridged and lines are occasionally cut. The second series notably compresses the three-part Henry VI into two episodes. Significant scenes involving Talbot and Joan of Arc are cut and Jack Cade's Rebellion is not included. Many elements from the Suffolk part are incorporated into the character of Somerset. While the text does not directly specify which Duke of Exeter is depicted in Henry VI, Part 3, it is widely assumed to be Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter given the play's setting between 1445 and 1471. The portrayal by Anton Lesser implies that it is the same person as Lesser's Thomas Beaufort from Henry V and Henry VI, Part 1, who had died in 1426.

## Broadcast

The first four plays aired on consecutive Saturday evenings on BBC Two between 30 June and 21 July 2012. The start time of Henry IV, Part 1 on 7 July was delayed by an hour because of coverage of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, and the play was shown a second time the following evening on BBC Four. The plays were shown in the United States from 20 September to 11 October 2013 as part of the PBS Great Performances series.
All four plays were shown again on consecutive evenings on BBC Four in April 2016 as part of the BBC Shakespeare Festival commemorating the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. The second series of plays aired on consecutive Saturday evenings on BBC Two commencing Saturday 7 May 2016.

## Home media

The overseas and DVD rights for The Hollow Crown series are owned by NBC Universal. A Region 2 DVD set of the four films was released on 1 October 2012. A Region 1 DVD set was released on 17 September 2013. A 2-disc DVD set of The Wars of the Roses was released on 20 June 2016.
The original music soundtrack from The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses composed by Dan Jones was released on the Wave Theory Records label in June 2016 and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

## Reception and accolades

Mike Hughes of The Salinas Californian wrote, "Amazing TV – perfectly filmed."

### Series 1

| Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
| Music & Sound Awards 2013 | Nominated | Sound Design (TV Programme) | The Hollow Crown |
| South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013 | Nominated | Best TV Drama | The Hollow Crown |
| South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2013 | Won | Times Breakthrough | Tom Hiddleston |
| Broadcasting Press Guild 2013 | Won | Best Single Drama | The Hollow Crown |
| Broadcasting Press Guild 2013 | Nominated | Best Actor | Ben Whishaw |
| BAFTA Television Awards 2013 | Won | Best Leading Actor (Richard II) | Ben Whishaw |
| BAFTA Television Awards 2013 | Won | Best Supporting Actor | Simon Russell Beale (Henry IV Part 2) |
| BAFTA Television Awards 2013 | Nominated | Best Single Drama | Richard II |
| RTS Programme Awards 2013 | Won | Single Drama | Richard II |
| BAFTA Craft Awards 2013 | Won | Best Original Television Music | Stephen Warbeck (Henry IV) |
| BAFTA Craft Awards 2013 | Won | Best Sound (Fiction) | Tim Fraser, Adrian Rhodes, Keith Marriner (Richard II) |
| BAFTA Craft Awards 2013 | Nominated | Best Costume Design | Odile Dicks-Mireaux (Richard II) |
| British Society of Cinematographers | Nominated | Best Cinematography in a Television Drama | Ben Smithard |
| 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards | Nominated | Best Miniseries | The Hollow Crown |

### Series 2

| Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
| BAFTA Television Awards 2017 | Nominated | Best Leading Actor | Benedict Cumberbatch |
| BAFTA Television Awards 2017 | Nominated | Best Mini-Series | The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses |
| BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2017 | Nominated | Best Costume Design | Nigel Egerton (Richard III) |