Go Behind the Scenes of The Serpent Queen with Ludivine Sagnier

“I’ve never played a real villain,” Ludivine Sagnier says, “and that’s what attracted me to Diane so much.” The award-winning French actress is talking about Diane de Poitiers, the infamous mistress to King Henry II, whom she portrays in the new Starz series The Serpent Queen. “I was playing a thug in a princess’s clothing, and I loved that.”

True, her de Poitiers is a foil to Catherine de Mecidi (played by both Liv Hill and Samantha Morton), but the appeal of taking on the part is greater than that. “I was really attracted to the opportunity to depict this part of French history, especially through the female gaze,” Sagnier says. “All of this history has been depicted by male historians who’ve denied the power and intelligence of women at the court, who had no rights and therefore had to be stronger in order to evolve socially. Also, she’s not only a villain but a character who has so much density, so many layers, so much intelligence and emotion.”

WATCH THE SERPENT QUEEN

Here, Sagnier opens her personal camera roll to T&C to share a behind-the-scenes look at The Serpent Queen, and the moments that didn’t make it on screen.