Michael Hirst is one of those rare breed of screenwriters that found their niche early and stuck with it.
The British screenwriter, known mostly to American audiences for his critically acclaimed drama, Elizabeth (starring Cate Blanchett), had strictly been a features writer specializing in historical dramas until opportunity knocked when he was approached by Showtime to pen a television series based on the life of Henry VIII, The Tudors.
Even though the drama, which debuted in 2007, was met with critical praise, notable English history experts questioned the historical accuracy and took issue with some of the Hirst’s creative liberties. Nonetheless, The Tudors would last 38 episodes and, after the series ended in 2010, Hirst would set his sights on another historical target that has had its fair share of Hollywood interpretations: the Vikings.
