Thomas More

Clever, gentle, principled. Brilliant legal mind. Leading politician in England. Family man. Widower who has remarried.

Thomas's second wife. Practical, honest, blunt. Not her husband's intellectual equal, but they share a mutual respect and affection. Character actress with great comic timing.

HANS HOLBEIN. 32. German dialect. Celebrated painter. Perfectionist, discrete, clever, likeable. Portraitist for the More family, Cromwell, Henry VIII, as well as several of Henry's future wives (including Anne Boleyn). More introduced him into the English court.

THOMAS CROMWELL. 44-51. British RP dialect. Shrewd, calculating. Has risen from Wolsey's confidential advisor into Henry's inner circle.

HENRY VIII. 36-44. King of England. Pleasant, cheerful and confident, full of himself. Counts Thomas among his closest friends and advisors when the series begins. Think young Oliver Reed, Tom Hardy.

THOMAS AUDLEY. 46. Barrister and judge. Made Lord Chancellor after Thomas resigns. A false front of confidence and ease in Thomas' presence. Unprincipled and subservient.

Thomas's youngest child and only son. Admires and loves his father. Gentle, thoughtful, earnest, loyal, self-deprecating.

Meg and William's eldest daughter. Cheerful, imaginative girl who loves her grandfather (Thomas). Sweet, energetic.

Loyal, fiery, dynamic. Quick-witted genius. Thomas's eldest daughter, his carbon copy. Mother of four (by the end of the series).

RICHARD RICH. 30-38. Old family friend of the Mores. Intimidated by Thomas, but rebels against him to prove to himself. Naive, corruptible. Against Thomas's advice, he pursues a political career in King Henry's court. Short, clipped speech.

BISHOP CRANMER. 40-47. An English bishop. Cordial, self righteous. Deeply taken with theology of Martin Luther. At heart a politician and people-pleaser.

THOMAS DUKE OF NORFOLK. 56-63. One of King Henry's closest advisers. Military tactician. Friendly to Thomas. Warm, honest, but holds loyalty to king and country above all else.

JAILER. 40s. Thomas's jailer in the Tower of London. Gruff, salt of the earth, down to earth, pragmatic. London working class accent. Cockney - Souf' London

Meg's adoring husband. Bright, thoughtful, stubborn. A fixture of the More household long before he married into it.