Michael Sheen talks about Prince Andrew’s epic downfall

If you were to drink a shot every time Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Michael Sheen), mentioned that he was in the Falklands War in A very royal scandalyou would be well on your way to being drunk by the end of the three-part miniseries.

How Prince Andrew responds to his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre’s allegations in the Prime Video drama will depend on how he believes he will be treated as a member of the British royal family with military experience. “I don’t need your permission to do an interview, thank you very much. I fought in the f***ing Falklands,” Andrew screams in the first episode after his press secretary vehemently objects to him speaking to the press. (“I’m the second f***ing son of the f***ing sovereign” is his very (Penalty by Kendall Roy, seconds earlier.)

Representation of the events before, during and after the immediately infamous interview with Emily Maitlis in the BBC programme News evening in November 2019, the anthology series from the producers of A very English scandal And A very British scandal takes us behind closed doors with Andrew and Emily Maitlis. Although this is not the first adaptation of this harrowing television conversation (Netflix’ scoop The film preceded the series, but boasts Maitlis as executive producer and gave actress Ruth Wilson access to the woman she portrays.

Via Zoom, Wilson and Sheen tell The Daily Beast’s “Obsessed” how they peel back the layers of a story that still manages to surprise.

Christopher Raphael/Blueprint/Sony Pictures Television

It won’t shock you that Sheen didn’t have comparable access to the man he portrays, but he did watch archival footage of the 1982 conflict that Andrew wears like a medal of honor. That time was a far cry from today’s reality, where he faces allegations of sexual harassment and a reputation of infamy.

“What impressed me most was the footage of him returning from the Falklands, where he gets off the ship in uniform and walks onto the quay,” says Sheen. “Thousands and thousands of people cheering and screaming; he has a rose in his mouth; he looks stunning. He is a Prince Charming through and through and was absolute tabloid fodder – everyone loved him.”

While The Crown didn’t show much of Prince Andrew’s development, aside from a few superficial moments emphasizing that he was Queen Elizabeth’s favorite child. Over the course of the three episodes, however, Sheen exploits every insecurity and unwavering need for recognition as someone who no longer has any interest or cultural relevance.

“For a man who seems to have it all on the outside, the experience – at least my version of him – of being a man whose own inner experiences are denied, limited, marginalized, and not given what he thinks he should have,” Sheen says. “It changed my perception of him in terms of certain choices.” (Sheen makes it clear that he is neither “justifying nor excusing” those choices.)

Sheen has been outspoken about the British royal family in the past (he also returned his Order of Merit in 2020, so he could criticize without seeming hypocritical), so you might expect some saucy comments. Instead, he is shocked how this interview was able to air at all – “When I first saw the interview, a large part of me, like everyone else, was thinking, ‘How on earth did this happen?'” – and he is guided by the script and understanding “how these extraordinary circumstances could come together to make this interview possible.”

Christopher Raphael/Blueprint/Sony Pictures Television

The series’ non-linear approach to the interview timeline provides insight into Prince Andrew’s decision-making. It also underlines why Emily – criticised And celebrated for an accidental eye roll months earlier – is determined to snag an interview with the accused prince. “We wanted to show in this show a woman in a very male world who constantly has to prove herself under special scrutiny because she’s a public figure and a woman, and how that can affect her or make her want more or have to prove herself,” says Wilson.

Getting the seats was only part of the battle, with the team negotiating for a full hour rather than 15 minutes. Comments about the inability to sweat and the Pizza Express alibi in Woking were instantly memorable, but seeing everything that led up to these crackers is fascinating. Wilson is keenly aware of Maitlis’s responsibility and the pressure to get that access. “She’s the only woman who had the opportunity to ask this privileged and powerful man about his relationship with Epstein and his possible relationship with Virginia Giuffre, and she asked all of those questions,” Wilson says. “I mean, she’s extraordinary. This interview is a tour de force.”

Maitlis had to worry about her safety and how she would be perceived after her groundbreaking conversation with the Duke. “She had to understand not only how it came about, but the consequences and her own personal experiences – having a stalker and being a public figure – only that this (interview) would attract even more attention,” Wilson says. “She doesn’t want to be a victim. She never portrays herself as a victim, but she still has to deal with it every day.”

As Wilson prepared for the role, she had the daunting task of interviewing the “massively involved” Maitlis, who was there to discuss this pivotal moment in the coverage of the British royal family and whether it has changed anything. “She has to question her own role as a journalist and what is news these days. And does journalism even have the ability to hold the powerful to account anymore?” says Wilson. It is this question, and this idea that a journalist “is there to represent the voice of those women who cannot speak for themselves”, that drives the final part of A very royal scandal.

Wilson is a self-professed “big news junkie.” She meets the informal version of a woman she has been watching for years News evening adds to the multi-layered portrayal (“She eats Percy Pigs (sweets) and wine gums, coffee and vodka.”) It may seem like a superficial subject, but the contents of Maitlis’ bag are revealing: “She told me what was in her handbag, which was an eye mask, a passport and some sleeping pills – in case a story came out and she had to get out.”

In fact, Maitlis gave Wilson her handbag for the series to add even more authenticity. Details like ink stains on the lining of that bag and ballpoint pen ink on her trousers were revealing, as Wilson shows the “ultimately professional” side of Maitlis, but also the unpolished moments in between. “When it really matters and she’s being watched and in that position with that responsibility, she takes it incredibly seriously, she’s focused and she doesn’t let anything slip,” Wilson says. “But when she’s in her day-to-day life or preparing for it, all the stress is there; you see the stress, the chaos, the adrenaline that you have as a journalist and that you need to get a story.”

Sheen also has the daunting task of trying to weave together the public and private lives of the famous person he plays. In this case, the British royal family is “such a protected and guarded institution,” Sheen says. Putting it all together is like “a hall of mirrors,” as there are known facts, such as that Andrew and Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson (Claire Rushbrook) lived together with their daughters after their divorce. “In terms of the private life, it’s extraordinary, and this relationship is said to have been told by people higher up in the firm that he would have to divorce her and then continue to live together like that,” Sheen says.

Fergie’s financial problems are public knowledge, “but what was really going on behind closed doors is so hard to find out – you have to separate fact from fiction,” he says. Anyone who saw this, scoop or the fake version of The Crown In Girl5eva will know all about Andrew’s stuffed animal collection, but Sheen has been told conflicting stories: “There are people I’ve spoken to and heard from who say, ‘Yes, that’s the case.’ Other people say, ‘No, that’s nonsense.’ The same goes for Andrew’s screaming and swearing. “It’s Really “It’s hard to put the actual picture together. So there was obviously a lot of guesswork and ultimately you’re trying to serve the story that was written,” Sheen says.

Christopher Raphael/Blueprint/Sony Pictures Television

As opposed to The Crownthis series includes a disclaimer at the beginning: “Some scenes have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes.” For Sheen, it was the well-rounded and complex version of events that won him over. “I felt like it was worth saying yes and taking the risk of saying, ‘Well, we don’t know if this is true or not, or portrayed or not, but it feels like it’s being done in a responsible way.’ So you have to put a little bit of momentum into it.”

Although much is open to interpretation, Sheen draws a line between what he considers to be two defining moments that occurred in public. “The two biggest collisions with reality for him – breaking through the royal bubble and actually experiencing the reality of the real world – were the Falklands and the interview with Emily Maitlis. That’s when the bubble burst; one is a high point for him and the other a low point.”

No matter how many times Prince Andrew mentions the first, the second will undoubtedly be remembered. After all, only one of these experiences was adapted (twice!).