The new Starz drama The Serpent Queen stars Samantha Morton (Minority Report, Harlots, The Walking Dead), as the nefarious Catherine de Medici, who, against all odds, became one of the most powerful and longest-serving rulers in French history.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Morton about the show and the life of one of the more fascinating women in history.
Q: I am guessing that as an actress, this is a really fun role to dive into. There's a temptation to see Catherine de Medici as this mean-spirited, angry person who has no soul - it's certainly the way history has seen here. But as the episodes play out, you realize that she is more nuanced than that. And that in many ways, she's a product of the way she was raised.
Samantha Morton: Correct. I hope that people don't just see her as angry and mean. When you start the show, you see her childhood and how she's treated. And actually, for Catherine, it becomes about survival. And then it becomes about love. And then it becomes about country. And then it becomes about peace.
And so she's thinking - it's not a narcissistic world, it's not ego - but ultimately she has to play a very vicious game of chess in order to compete and survive.
Q: Certainly one of the interesting aspects of the show is that while you are playing the adult Catherine, Liv (Hill) is playing the younger Catherine. And I read in a previous interview that you said you didn't want to see how she was playing the young Catherine. That you wanted each portrayal to stand on its own.
Samantha Morton: In a way. It wasn't that I didn't want to see her, but it was that I wasn't able to see her. I was in New York filming the movie and Liv was on set. But had a lot of Zooms and I didn't want to her to feel closeted by the fact that I was going to play the older Catherine. I wanted her to have the freedom to interpret the role as she saw it.
And I think people change an enormous amount between the time when they are 14 and they're in their thirties. So there was room for interpretation of that.
But we did have a voice coach who worked with Liv - who I've worked with before - to guide Liv with just some similarities in regards to pace and to how we carried ourselves.
Q: One of the things I really like about the show is that most times, history is written by men. And it tends to be the men's version of what historical events were like. The Serpent Queen doesn't feel like that at all. It feels very much like Catherine de Medici's take on her life and what happened. It's not her life as seen through someone else's eyes.
Samantha Morton: That's an interesting way of looking at it. You know, this is based on a book. Written by a woman. And you have Justin - who is a male - telling the story. But what you needed was someone who had an enormous amount of empathy. And an enormous amount of talent. And that is what Justin has in abundance.
When I was first reading the script, I was asking questions such as "who is making it?" and "why are they making it?" and as we had conversations it was clear that her story was in safe hands as well.
Q: Was that one of the factors that helped you decide that you wanted the role? That it was a take on the character that you were comfortable with and that you felt was a good representation?
Samantha Morton. Yeah. The right people, with integrity and with the right reasons for making the show. Also, for me, in order for me to bring everything I have to something, I need to make sure that everyone is in it for the right reasons and they care. And that we have a talented team. Whether that be the cinematographer, the costume designer, the makeup designer. Justin was so lucky. Because not only did Justin write the show and was the showrunner, Justin directed most of the episodes. And that was incredible. To have that closeness with someone and to take it all the way through. That was amazing.
Q: You mentioned when you were first going through the scripts and reading through them. From an acting standpoint, as you're reading the scripts, what was the biggest acting challenge for you? Either "this is going to be the most difficult thing" and "this is the thing I need to make sure gets done."
Samantha Morton: I think the authenticity of the pieces to the camera was important. That it felt as if they were right, rather than just put in as a story plot. It had to be truthful, it had to be that it was Catherine's inner voice.
And at times, there is humor to it, as if she's talking to herself. And at times, it's desperation. And as the story continues - I don't want to give away too many spoilers - and at times, there's utter heartbreak. And you see the internal workings of her. And I wanted to make sure that it was right.
The Serpent Queen premieres Sunday, September 11th, 2022 on Starz.
