Beauty and the sexy beast
By May Seah, TODAY | Posted: 05 September 2008 1122 hrs

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SINGAPORE: It is not easy being seductive and intense all the time. In fact, according to Natalie Dormer, it's "very tiring". Of course, she does it so well, you'd never be able to tell.

The English actress's unconventional beauty, beguiling gaze and aura of intrigue stands her in good stead as she takes on one of history's most magnetic figures: Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn.

The Tudors is the "updated" story of King Henry VIII, the infamous monarch who made himself the head of the Church of England, thus enabling the legalisation of his own divorce.

Why updated? While historical fidelity probably has its merits, the fact is, nobody wants to watch a balding king who's so fat, you'd have to canter 40 legions just to get on his good side.

The Tudors' Henry is young, sexy, aggressive, romantic, and very ripped. The Tudors' Henry is Jonathan Rhys Meyers — the face of the Hugo fragrance for men. Need we say more?

"It was surreal," said Dormer about working with Rhys Meyers. "Five minutes after I met Jonathan, we were doing sex scenes... He has an awful lot of energy and is incredibly buoyant."

From Dormer's own mouth, the show deals largely with "sex, love and passion, and the way (sex) interferes with other areas of a human's life".

Of course, there's political intrigue, too, such as Henry's tumultuous relationship with France and Spain, as well as with his own corrupt adviser.

But who cares about that? We're pretty sure the series got its Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Series last year more for its frank, bodice-ripping salacity.

Dormer feels that the show "breaks the convention of the period drama by having an incredibly raw, modern tone to it."

"It unnerves people," the 26-year-old history buff told TODAY over the phone from London.

"Any political figure who throws his weight around for personal gain or makes massive revolutionary social changes in the name of God - regardless of religion - is very relevant today."

And is her dating strategy anything like her character Anne Boleyn's? "No," she replied with a laugh. "I’m not as sophisticated!"

The Tudors premieres on Monday, 10pm on HBO Signature (StarHub Ch 66). - TODAY/fa