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Michael Sheen says Prince Andrew scandal is ‘a secret’

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Michael Sheen says Prince Andrew scandal is ‘a secret’

Michael Sheen still believes that “there is a mystery at the heart of the drama” after playing Prince Andrew in Prime Video A very royal scandalwhich dramatises the disgraced BBC royals of 2019. News tonight interview about his connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

“We don’t know what he did or didn’t do beyond a certain point,” Sheen, 55, said. Us Weekly exclusively ahead of the three-part series, which premieres Thursday, September 19. “We know up to a certain point that he was at that place at that time. … And even some of that is questionable. But beyond that, there’s no way to tell.”

Sheen plays Andrew in the miniseries alongside Ruth Wilsonwho plays the role of a British journalist Emily MaitlisViewers will see what happened and what came after Andrew’s conversation with Maitlis on the infamous BBC programme News tonight interview in November 2019.

During questioning, Andrew denied knowing Virginia Giuffre — a woman who accused him of sexual assault — through his relationship with convicted sex offender Epstein. Giuffre eventually sued Andrew for the alleged assault and they settled out of court.

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“There was no court case. There was no final judgment on this, it was settled out of court,” Sheen explained. Us“That was a challenge for me. How to play a character whose most important fact you don’t know.”

Michael Sheen as Prince Andrew. Christopher Raphael/Blueprint/Sony Pictures Television

The actor said he “had to make a decision” about what direction to take the fictional version of Andrew for the miniseries.

“I have to be very specific about what I do and how I play this person. But it was a big challenge,” Sheen continued. “Playing royalty, in general, is a bit of a hall of mirrors. There’s so much you don’t know, and so much that’s based on gossip and hearsay and things like that. It was a challenge. There was a lot of guesswork.”

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Both Sheen and Wilson said Us watched Andrew’s BBC interview “hundreds and hundreds of times” after taking up their roles.

“I’ve played real-life characters before — not necessarily ones that require an interview — but I do tape interviews with them. It’s good research,” Sheen said Us“I’ll record the audio of something so I’m not distracted by the video element. There’s both watching the interview and listening to it.”

All three episodes A very royal scandal premiere on Thursday, September 19.