Damian Lewis to play Henry VIII in Wolf Hall adaptation

Damian Lewis is set to play English king Henry VIII in a TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novel Wolf Hall.

The Homeland actor will star opposite Mark Rylance, who will play Thomas Cromwell, in the six-part miniseries. The drama, which will be directed by White Oleander’s Peter Kosminsky, will chronicle Cromwell’s rise in the Tudor court.

In addition to Lewis and Rylance’s casting, Claire Foy has been tapped to play Anne Boleyn, Jonathan Pryce will take on the role of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and Joanne Whalley will portray Katherine of Aragon, one of Henry VIII’s six wives. Lewis joins the ranks of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ray Winstone, Robert Shaw and Keith Michell, who have also portrayed Henry VIII onscreen.