Cannes: Alicia Vikander on playing Catherine Parr in Henry VIII drama ‘Firebrand’

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

CANNES, France (AP) — It’s widely know that Henry VIII, the Tudor king, had a particularly grim batting average when it came to matrimony. His litany of wives, of course, are the subject of the current Broadway show, “Six,” and many other productions. The wives’ succession of fates — two beheadings and three other deaths — has long loomed in the historical imagination. The new film “Firebrand” takes a different approach to a much-dramatized chapter of 16th century British history. It stars Alicia Vikander as Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry and the only one to outlive him. “Firebrand” recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.