Michael Sheen Says 'Royal Family Is So Controlled' While Discussing Challenges He Faced With Prince Andrew Portrayal For New Series
Michael Sheen has commented on the British royal family while discussing the challenges he faced while portraying the disgraced royal Prince Andrew for the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series "A Very Royal Scandal."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Monday, the 55-year-old actor described the difficulty of portraying a member of the royal family due to the protocols of the monarchy and how they deal with all the media attention.
"One of the big challenges with playing Prince Andrew compared to a lot of people I've played is it's a hall of mirrors with Prince Andrew," he told the outlet before noting, "The royal family is so controlled with what gets out."
Sheen continued, "So you've got, on the one hand, very stage-managed photographs and interviews and personal appearances, and then you've got, gossip and rumor and, 'The person who used to be security guard said...' And you don't know what people's agendas are."
Commenting on Prince Andrew's earlier public image during the 1980s, Sheen acknowledged that the Duke of York was deemed a "ruggedly handsome war hero, a prince who has the most eligible bachelor on the scene."
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However, things drastically changed when the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's third child got involved with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, especially when the royal addressed his relationship with the financier in his now infamous 2019 interview.
The new series will highlight the "Newsnight" interview Prince Andrew did with journalist Emily Maitlis in an attempt to clear his name and the aftermath of what is now deemed a PR disaster for the royal, according to People.
Sharing his thoughts on the controversial interview, Sheen said, "I do remember not having a hot take on it, I just felt the way everyone felt about it: 'What was that? How on earth did that ever happen?"
The multi-awarded actor, who has worked on several small-screen projects including "Masters of Sex" and "Good Omens," also admitted in his THR interview that for his role as Prince Andrew, he opted not to impersonate the royal.
"Ultimately, you want the audience to engage with what's going on for the character, not to be too bothered about what's on the surface and all those things like mannerisms, vocal and physical things," he explained.
"A Very Royal Scandal" premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 19.
