James Norton & Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to Lead 11th Century Drama 'King & Conqueror'
Grantchester alum James Norton is set to star opposite Game of Thrones favorite Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the forthcoming historical drama King and Conqueror, a period piece set in the 11th century and focused on the lives of the two men destined to meet in a battle that will shape the identity of a country --- and the future of a continent.
Norton will play Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, also known as Harold II, who was the brother-in-law of Edward the Confessor and the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold only ruled for a scant nine months before his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. (Popular myth says he was slain via an arrow through the eye, but this is a subject of some debate among historians.) Coster-Waldau is set to star as William, Duke of Normandy, otherwise known as William the Conqueror, the man who defeated Harold to become the first Norman king of England, and whose reign ushered in profound political, social, and administrative changes, bringing about seismic shifts in the worlds of the Church, the aristocracy, the government, and even in the country's language. But King and Conqueror doesn't sound as though it will concern itself all that much with the aftermath of the fateful meeting between these two men on the battlefield, but with who they were beforehand, and the choices they made along the path to a face-off that would change their country forever.
"In the U.K. we learn about William the Conqueror, the Battle of Hastings, and King Harold’s gruesome death in our school history lessons – but those headlines are all most of us can remember," Sue Deeks, head of BBC Program Acquisition said in a statement. "King and Conqueror will bring Harold and William to life, depicting their lives, loves, and families, and the gripping, high-stakes power game that led to their fateful meeting in 1066. With incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera, I cannot wait for this exciting project to be realized."
