The BBC and Firebird Pictures (Wilderness, The Jetty, Outrageous) have announced lead casting for Wild Cherry, Nicôle Lecky’s highly anticipated second drama for the BBC, following the success of the BAFTA-winning Mood.

The original new drama will be led by Eve Best (House of the Dragon, The King’s Speech), Carmen Ejogo (True Detective, The Penguin), Imogen Faires (Goldie’s Oldies, Marcella) and newcomer Amelia May. Also joining the cast are Sophie Winkleman (Peep Show, Sanditon) and Nicôle Lecky (Mood, Sweetpea), who also serves as an executive producer.

Meet Lorna (Carmen Ejogo), a self-made, successful black businesswoman from South London who has worked hard to be where she is – and best friend Juliet (Eve Best), a woman born into the privileged gated community they both call home. Daughters Grace (Imogen Faires) and Allegra (Amelia May) are BFFs and live a life other teenagers can only dream of. A safe haven for the super-rich and their little darlings, Richford Estate is a place where bad things never happen…

BBC

The actor on her new role in the Game of Thrones prequel, why #MeToo change needs to hurry up, and how she finds joy making olive oil in Italy

Actor Eve Best, 51, grew up in west London and started performing aged nine. She studied English at Oxford University and trained at Rada. In 2006 she won an Olivier award for best actress for the title role in Hedda Gabler, and is a two-time Tony nominee. She played Wallis Simpson in The King’s Speech, while her TV roles include The Shadow Line, Nurse Jackie, Life in Squares and The Honourable Woman. She is Princess Rhaenys Velaryon in House of the Dragon, the new Game of Thrones prequel series.

Were you a Game of Thrones fan before getting the gig?
No, I was a complete Game of Thrones virgin. I knew it was a big deal but was unprepared for the sheer, gobsmacking scale of it. Walking on to the set was like walking into New York but instead of towering skyscrapers, it’s Dragonstone. The crew was nearly 4,000 people, which was jaw-dropping. I’ve caught up since.

You move between stage and screen freely. Do you have a preference?
I love both. I’ve done more stage than screen, mainly because the parts I’ve been offered on stage have been significantly more interesting. Films have the potential to be incredibly interesting too though. I always feel like if I’m a bit scared, then I should definitely do it.

Post #MeToo, is Hollywood changing?
Not fast enough. Quite frankly, it feels like change needs to be instantaneous because we’ve all got a much bigger priority, which is whether the Earth is going to be around. The Covid crisis was a wonderful example of how unbelievably efficient and adaptable human beings can be when we set our minds to it. Let’s just do that for other issues and stop all the fuss.

Is the variety of roles available for older women improving?
Again, the speed of change needs to be snappier. I’m longing to see more women of around my age taking leads in romances, adventures or dramas in which they’re not being mothers, sidekicks or detectives. Sexy, interesting women who are over 40 – there are a lot of us out there and I’d like to see much more of us on screen.

You’re 5ft 10in. How has your height affected your career?
Not quite, I’m 5ft 9-and-a-half, but that’s an interesting question. I certainly always felt like a tall girl. Because I was always afraid people were intimidated by my height, I ended up subconsciously apologising for myself. You worry about being somehow too much or not feminine. But the dichotomy is there’s also a certain vulnerability that accompanies being taller. A sort of interesting gentleness can come through in my characters.

Read the rest of the interview at the The Guardian

Screencaptures from this interview can be found below:

IGN:

Who Should You Root For in House of the Dragon?

House of the Dragon cast members Milly Alcock (“Young Rhaenyra Targaryen”), Fabien Frankel (“Ser Criston Cole”), Steve Toussaint (“Lord Corlys Velaryon”), Eve Best (“Princess Rhaenys Targaryen”), and Graham McTavish (“Ser Harrold Westerling”) talk to IGN about power, passion, and the pursuit of the Iron Throne in the Game of Thrones prequel series.

Screencaps:

The first season begins with House Targaryen at peace. King Viserys, for all his weaknesses as a ruler, is a good man who wants stability for his family and his kingdom. But a struggle for succession among his roguish younger brother Daemon (Matt Smith), his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her onetime friend Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) soon rends the kingdom asunder.

“It’s a civil war,” Condal summarizes. “The family fights itself.”

It’s also a war fought on gender lines. Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) — dubbed “The Queen Who Never Was” — had been seen as the best candidate to rule, but she was passed over by a council of men in favor of her cousin Viserys. Her dignity, subtle resentment and self-realization set the tone for the series.

“At my very first meeting, Miguel said to me that the heart of the show is my line, ‘Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne,'” Best recalls.

Together with Rhaenys, Alicent and Rhaenyra make up the female axis of House of the Dragon, with the latter two depicted both as young friends (played by Emily Carey and Milly Alcock, respectively) and grown-up rivals (Cooke and D’Arcy).

“At the start of the story,” D’Arcy says, “we understand that Rhaenys was meant to be next to take the throne, but in a consolidation of male power, the role is given instead to Rhaenyra’s father, Viserys. So straightaway we’re in a context where women get shafted. For a woman to take power, you have to convince the electorate and the supporters and the allies that a woman is not ‘other.’ So the question of the show is, how do you do that?”

Emmy Magazine

Here are the captures from both behind the scenes segments:

Behind the shoot: