Of course I had written a film about Elizabeth I, and I loved the Tudor period, and I think at the time Working Title and I had debated on whether to do Elizabeth I or Henry VIII. I'd always wanted… — Michael Hirst Copy Share Image
When you're a screenwriter working on a film, you're not really even welcome on set, even if you know... When I wrote 'Elizabeth' and Shekhar Kapur was a friend of mine, but I wasn't really welcome on set, because the… — Michael Hirst Copy Share Image
The key for me with historical characters is they're interesting because they're human beings. A little bit of Hemingway goes a long way here,… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
For 'Vikings,' we have to do so much outside shooting, and it's normally - I think with American shows, it'll be 60 or 70… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
You have to create characters - certainly in series TV - who people engage with. They don't have to be nice; you don't have… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
'Downton Abbey' is just one cliche after another, and it is a really, really poor piece of drama. But that's only me talking. That's… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
People love cliches. If you can give people cliches, that's very good TV, then. — Michael Hirst Copy Share
With 'The Tudors,' I had a huge amount of material, I mean so many books and so much stuff about what they really said.… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
I couldn't give 'Vikings' away - I mean, I love these people. And I'm not sure anyone else writing it would necessarily have the… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
The Vikings certainly didn't write anything about themselves; it was not a literate, but rather a pagan, culture. So what we get was written… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
When I did 'The Tudors,' there was massive information available and a ready-made market. — Michael Hirst Copy Share
My instinct is to absolutely recoil when talking about writing in a mechanistic way. Nothing could be dumber than writing a film or TV… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
I've found that using historical material and being rooted in historical material is liberating because I always think to myself, 'Well, this actually happened,… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
People offer me loads of stuff, and some of it I like, but I just can't do it because I can't write it all.… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
The American obsession with 'Downton' amuses me slightly because it's such a fiction. I've always been questioned about my historical veracity, and 'Downton' just… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
I wasn't setting out to write a documentary; if I had, I would have done it in a completely different way. I was asked… — Michael Hirst Copy Share
With 'Vikings,' I had the task of making these people interesting and, to a point, sympathetic. — Michael Hirst Copy Share
