Clémence Poésy Talks The BBC’s King And Conqueror

What drew you to the part of Matilda?

The fact that these women were there at the time behind these great men. It’s the curiosity of trying to figure out who they were when they’re forgotten because the men have stayed in the history books. It’s interesting and playful to explore these figures who are so unknown. It’s very hard to figure out what the truth was, but we took the suggestion of Matilda as the more political side, and William as the warrior and the conqueror.

She’s the one who knows about politics because she’s grown up in these families. What if it was a perfect union of both their strengths that has allowed for him to rule the way he did? There’s even a scene where a letter is passed around and he doesn’t even read it, he just passes it to her. She seems more aware of all the things at play, and probably never trusts anyone fully, apart from William.

The way she’s introduced isn’t particularly friendly – she has a level of lucidity for what needs to be done to stay in power. She doesn’t have issues about using force when needed, so she’s quite unusual and complicated.

How would you describe Matilda and William’s relationship?

It might just be a very romantic thing, but we wanted to show this couple as something pure and strong. She’s been raised by someone very twisted which has given her a lot of strength, but also a very horrible idea of the world and people. She’s met William and he has kind of healed that.

I think he’s the reason she escaped something incredibly toxic, and so for him, she is ready to do anything. But she has kept the armour that she has built over the years, growing up in that court around people who were all trying to bring each other down. I don’t think she wants power as much as William does, but she wants him, and he wants power, and she has the tools to navigate that.

How was it working with Nikolaj?

It was lovely, he’s generous and caring – everything you want from an actor you’re working with. When he was directing, it was even better because he was so excited. It’s nice when someone’s like, ‘oh, let’s make this thing together!’ There was nothing blasé about it. We all enjoyed having him tell us what to do!

But by the end of that episode I was like, ‘are you okay?’, because he’d been putting a lot of work into the directing of it all, and then he’d be doing this huge fight sequence which they’d rehearsed a lot. It’s a lot, and shooting that in Iceland half naked in the mud…! But he was very happy while doing it, or he looked like he was!

How did the sets and costumes help immerse you in the time period?

There was a rawness that gave the series a different energy that we wouldn’t have had in perhaps a more traditional setting. I’ve been doing this job since I was 16 and I’m 42, and I can never get over the fact that some people have these sets in their minds and then make them appear. The skills and the craft that it takes, I’m always amazed.

Why do you think people are still so interested in the story of 1066 today?

There’s something thrilling about revisiting big historical moments and trying to play at what was going on in people’s minds. You find the drama in the mystery. And whether you want to or not, you look at it from your perspective today. It’s so hard to go back to the mind of the time. I think it’s what happens with any book you read about history, is that it’s looked at from where it was written from the country, the person, the time it was written.

What are you most excited for audiences to see in this series?

I think it’s a good story! You can dive in it and it’s got so much. I’m excited to see what happens between the King [Edward the Confessor played by Eddie Marsan] and his mother [Lady Emma played by Juliet Stevenson]. I remember the readthrough being like, ‘oh my God, this is going to be amazing! I want to watch that’. Because of course, you do your bit, and you’re in that zone, but the series is so big and generous in what it’s offering as a story. It’s a real joy to just dive into.