'Victoria' Actor Laurence Fox Reveals the Inspiration Behind His Portrayal of Lord Palmerston
While season 3 of Victoria already aired in the U.S., new episodes of the royal drama are just now premiering in the U.K., and with their debut comes an additional round press coverage about the show.
For example, actor Laurence Fox, a newcomer to the Victoria cast, recently went on the British show This Morning to talk about his character Lord Palmerston. During the conversation, he revealed that his portrayal of Queen Victoria's political rival was influenced by former London mayor and current MP, Boris Johnson.
"I got a few emails from [Victoria's showrunner] Daisy Goodwin saying, 'More like Boris Johnson,'" he said, according to Radio Times.
"I was backing off it a bit but she wanted more Boris Johnson so I added Boris Johnson and Willy Wonka. Some might say I overcooked it somewhat, who knows?"
The Wonka influence came into play with Fox's use of props.
"I found this cane in costume and I nicked it and I started twiddling it around, which solved my acting hands," he said.
For the British audience, Fox also previewed what to expect from his character this season, particularly in regards to his less-than-cordial relationship with both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
"They warm to each other slightly, because he does have some good advice aside from being very bullish," Fox shared.
"I think he's probably a little bit sexist, maybe. He thinks, 'What is this woman doing as Queen?' He's one of those people that just pokes the elephant in the room at all times anyway. He likes to see where someone's limit is."
In the U.K., Victoria airs on ITV Sunday nights at 9 p.m., but if you're in the States, all eight episodes of season three are currently available to watch on Amazon Prime, at the link below:
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