The Tudors

Ladies and gentleman, the Queen!

With that command, all the revelers in the room stop. The candlelight still flickers above them casting a warm glow on the banquet hall. They drop into a deep bow as Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, and her four maidens enter the room. After a brief pause, they all stand and begin to applaud. Only after watching from a different angle, do we see the taut fabric around her pregnant stomach. Cut!

This is the set of The Tudors and Sarah, Erin, myself, and later, Bernadette, had the privilege to visit the set on June 19. Though each of us had our different reasons for visiting (for me, a glimpse at a dream career and for Sarah, a glimpse at a dream husband in series star Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), we all agreed in the end that this was one of the highlights of the year.

The scene described above took close to three hours to shoot even though it will only last five seconds in the finished episode. Yet it is this attention to detail that has made The Tudors both a critically acclaimed and immensely popular show. The Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated series has become one of the crown jewels of cable network Showtime as well as an example of the excellent entertainment opportunities in Ireland. The Tudors follows an illustrious line of productions that have shot at Ardmore Studios in Bray, including The Lion in Winter, Braveheart, My Left Foot, and In the Name of the Father. Film and television crews have looked to Ireland for its expansive landscapes, collegial work environment, and the Section 481 tax incentive on international co-productions, which can be worth up to 20% of the production’s Irish budget.

Before we arrived, Trina had asked us to remember to say thank you to executive producer Morgan O'Sullivan after our visit as it was Morgan who kindly made this visit possible. We thought this meant that we would see him for maybe five minutes and shake his hand. Instead, he gave us a special tour of the set, taking us around to all the different departments. Dublin-born Morgan is a veteran of the entertainment industry, having started as a radio host on RTÉ in the 1960s and 70s. He served as the Managing Director of Ardmore Studios in the 1980s before becoming a producer through his production company, World 2000 Entertainment, on such notable films as King Arthur, Becoming Jane, and P.S. I Love You. Yet he is as down-to-earth as any of the countless Irish people we have met during our time in Ireland.

He began by having us observe the filming of the scene, telling us that the timing of the entrance, bow, and applause had all been choreographed beforehand. Standing off to the side, we watched along on the new Panavision screens. What seemed like incredibly hazy lighting when we entered had actually combined with the very real candlelit chandeliers (as Morgan was reminded when he got drenched in wax after walking under one) to give the image on the screen a remarkable look that achieved Morgan’s goal of a Vermeer-like quality. In between takes, a cadre of makeup artists and costumers descended upon the actors, touching up their faces or in the case of one extra, loosening her wheeze-inducing corset.

Then he took us through the different rooms on the set, including King Henry's infamous bedroom complete with bear rug. He even asked the professional photographer to come and take our group photo in Henry VIII's throne. We saw additional sets in a different sound stage, where strategically placed dirt could transform an indoor hallway into the outdoor entrance to the palace. He then led us out of the stage and over to the production and art departments. Tapestry patterns, set sketches, and landscapes composites adorned the walls. We learned some insider secrets including increasing the size of dueling armies or making sure a landscape looked just the way the director wanted it to. We then met with Joan Bergin, who won an Emmy for her costume designs. She took us around the costume department, explaining to us how she "Tudorizes" certain pieces (to make them fit the various storylines) and showing us her own inspiration wall where she tacked everything from museum paintings to contemporary fashion photography.

Piece by piece and department by department, we began to see how all the different components came together to form that one five-second scene and ultimately, the entire episode and series. Morgan explained to us that he approached The Tudors like a film, rather than a standard television series. Yet this relentless push for excellence on all fronts did not prevent the set from having a friendly mood. Everyone knew Morgan and – more surprisingly – Morgan knew everyone. We found out that most of the crew from the gaffers to the transportation had been working together for more than ten years. One of the set builders had worked at Ardmore for close to sixty years!

When the crew broke for lunch, Morgan asked us how long we planned to stay and we thought that was our own cue to leave. Instead, he told us to come back in the evening as the last scene of the day included Rhys-Meyers and he wanted us to meet him. Surprised at such an opportunity, we quickly said yes and contacted Bernadette, who had missed the morning visit due to a meeting in Dublin, to quickly come down to Bray.

We returned in the early evening (the workday lasts from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and even earlier for hair and make-up artists) and assumed our earlier positions watching the screens as Jonathan filmed his scene. It was hard to believe that one year ago, I had been stapling his headshot and resume when I worked in the mailroom of a Beverly Hills talent agency. Morgan had told me earlier that my job was to hold up the girls when they met Jonathan. In between takes, the Cork-born Jonathan came out and chatted with us, pleased with both my enrollment at University College Cork and Sarah's upcoming job at the New York Police Department. The girls controlled themselves and Sarah jokingly proclaimed this a victory for stalkers worldwide. (Morgan had wanted to make Erin and Sarah extras, but couldn't rewrite history to include an Asian in Henry's court!)

The Mitchell Scholarship has given me countless opportunities to gain exposure to the entertainment industry, perks I did not know about when I originally applied. I interned at United Talent Agency the summer before I came to Ireland thanks to an introduction from the US-Ireland Alliance, I went to the Oscar Wilde Honoring the Irish in Film event in Los Angeles, sat next to Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan in Belfast, and now visited The Tudors set. My fellow Mitchell Scholars have wondered aloud whether they should have changed their career aspirations!