My instinct is to absolutely recoil when talking about writing in a mechanistic way. Nothing could be dumber than writing a film or TV script based on prescriptions, on other peoples’ ideas of what character should be. Michael Hirst Read Quote
Downton Abbey’ is just one cliche after another, and it is a really, really poor piece of drama. But that’s only me talking. That’s just my take on it. Michael Hirst Read Quote
I felt that a lot of Viking culture had been caricatured and misconstrued. After all, they were far more democratic than the Saxons and the Francs, who were exercising really hierarchical social structures at that time. The Vikings had popular meetings where everything could be discussed. Michael Hirst Read Quote
Nobody knows what really happened in any historical period. There are some periods where we know more than others, though. Michael Hirst Read Quote
Of course I had written a film about Elizabeth I, and I loved the Tudor period, and I think at the time Working Title and I had debated on whether to do Elizabeth I or Henry VIII. I’d always wanted to do Henry VIII. Like Elizabeth, I’d had this feeling that it had never properly been addressed. Michael Hirst Read Quote
I’ve found that using historical material and being rooted in historical material is liberating because I always think to myself, ‘Well, this actually happened, and this is fantastic!’ That’s why I don’t like fantasy, in a way. Because it’s sort of in emptiness. Michael Hirst Read Quote
It works better if your lead character is complex and interesting and not perfect. Michael Hirst Read Quote
When you’re making a TV drama, the showrunner is God, and so however onerous and difficult and consuming that responsibility is, you’re being treated with respect, so it changes your whole outlook to the production. You’re being asked about costumes, set design, music, every aspect of the show. Michael Hirst Read Quote
