Hail to the 'new Swedish queen'

Sweden is bursting with talent: Another actress is making it big on the international scene. 

  • Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson plays Queen Elizabeth in the BBC-produced TV series ”The White Queen”. She also stars in the new Ridley Scott series ”The Vatican”, and plays a part in the upcoming Hollywood movie ”Hercules: The Thracian wars”.

  • Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson has sailed up as the latest film export through her part as the White Queen in the BBC TV-series with the same name, ”The White Queen”. For Swedish TV-viewers, Ferguson is mostly known as Anna Gripenhielm in the soap ”Nya tider”. But now the 29-year old plays Queen Elizabeth in ”The White Queen”, she also stars in the new Ridley Scott series ”The Vatican”, and as if that’s not enough she also plays a part in the upcoming Hollywood movie ”Hercules: The Thracian wars”, which will be filmed in Hungary.

  • ten part historical drama series The White Queen, which was acquired for broadcast in the US by cable network Starz back in September.

  • How did all this happen? ”[Swedish film director] Richard Hobert gave me a part in the (Swedish) movie ’En enkel till Antibes’, which led to me getting an agent in London. The first screen test they sent me to was ’The White Queen’. They told me I didn’t have much of a chance, but that it was a great opportunity for me to meet people in the business,” Ferguson recently told Swedish media.
    ”The White Queen” is a series produced by BBC and shown on HBO Nordic. The series is about the war of the roses during the 15th century, and Ferguson plays Elizabeth Woodville, who became queen of England.
    ”I was very nervous when I went to the first screen test. The director, the producer, and Max Irons (son to Jeremy Irons), who plays king Edward, sat there. They wanted to see what the chemistry between me and Max was like, and it worked between us right away,” Ferguson said.

  • Based on the The Cousin’s War series of novels by Phillipa Gregory and developed for TV by Emma Frost, The White Queen is set in 1464, during the height of the War of the Roses, and tells the story of the women caught up in the ongoing conflict for the throne.

  • U.S.viewers can watch the series on broadcasting cable network Starz, which began broadcasting season 1 on August 26 in the US - The White Queen, Schedule (You can right now watch the premiere for free online).
    Starz, co-producing the series, also closed a deal with ALL3Media International (on behalf of Company Pictures) to acquire domestic and worldwide multiplatform distribution rights to The White Queen.
    “Phillipa Gregory’s novels have become runaway best sellers with passionate fans the world over, making this a project ripe for reimagining,” said Carmi Zlotnik, Starz’s Managing Director of Original Programming. “The period of England’s Wars of the Roses makes for a sensational historical backdrop as a time fraught with violence, mystery and intrigue. We are excited to be working with an incredibly talented team, both in front and behind the camera, that is taking on such an ambitious project and bringing this riveting story to life.”

  • Sweden's latest star to make it big was European Film Promotion's 2011 "Shooting Star" Alicia Wikander, Sweden's latest Hollywood export who since then has gone from one acclaimed role to the next: New Lead for Alicia Wikander