MovieChat Forums > Elizabeth I (2006) Discussion > King James of Scotland - Spud?

King James of Scotland - Spud?

posted 18 years ago by LeofricsBeloved
14 replies | jump to latest

I am not British so please forgive me for any ignorant questions:

1) Did Ewen Bremner (Spud from Trainspotting) exaggerate his Scottish accent and did James speak with a heavy Scottish accent? The reason I ask is that James did grow up in an English-paid court and his mother was half-French, so what kind of accent would a Scottish prince most likely take up?

I was so surprised to see Spud playing a king, lol.

2) What was that whole conversation James had with Cecil about? Something about bitches and having boys in court. Were they implying James had homosexual tendencies? Please explain.

[–] persistenceofvision 18 years ago

James VI and I grew up in Scotland as did his son Charles (later Charles I). Charles never lost his Scottish accent despite leaving Scotland aged 4; nor did his dad.

It *was* quite funny seeing Spud playing the King; on the subject of *Trainspotting*, Robert Carlyle played James in *Gunpowder Treason and Plot* (2004). Maybe Ewan McGregor is still limbering up for it.

James had FULL-ON homosexual tendencies and used to fondle boyfriends of his in front of the court. You can get away with that sort of thing when you're the king, I guess. Probably his most famous male lover was George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham (who tends to show up in movies about the Three Musketeers).

[–] LeofricsBeloved 18 years ago

Ah, I feel sorry for the woman Queen Anne who had to sleep with a homosexual Spud to produce an heir!

In terms of the Scottish accent, what type of Scottish accent? Some accents I've heard are quite mild but Spud's accent was very heavy.

[–] patronizing_bunnyrabbits 17 years ago

Well, Ewen Bremner's accent's quite heavy. Heavy accents tend to denote lower classes, but I imagine the actor and director figured a Scottish accent is a Scottish accent, or just didn't give it consideration at all.

"Sacred cows make the best hamburger."

[–] puirt-a-beul 16 years ago

Ah, I feel sorry for the woman Queen Anne who had to sleep with a homosexual Spud to produce an heir!

They were pretty much all political marriages, not for affection or sexual attraction. So often the only times a King or Queen did sleep with their spouse, gay straight or otherwise, was when they were trying to produce an heir. For recreation, they tended to have their "favourites".

But it was one of Anne's frequent complaints that James didn't sleep with her at all, for any reason.

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[–] TooShortforThatGesture 15 years ago

....and I feel sorry for the homosexual King James having to sleep with Queen Anne to produce an heir.

It works both ways.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] LeofricsBeloved 8 years ago

Thank you for all your responses. It's been a decade since this thread was started and I'm happy to see it still here.

The way Mirren/Elizabeth looked at James, "I sure as hell won't leave my hard-earned Kingdom to Spud!"😁

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[–] forever_swirl 17 years ago

I've read in other places that James did have an accent. EVeryone did back then. Whether it was THAT heavily accented is beyond me. I've heard about the homosexual side too. He wasn't the only monarch to swing that way either as history shows.

As for poor Queen Anne...she must not have minded too much because didn't she end up having like 8 or 9 kids? I'm not sure of the number, but it was a lot. I've also read that though James didn't get along/like her at first, he grew to love her eventually.

[–] Colkitto 15 years ago

James certainly had a strong accent - it's recorded that his English subjects had difficulty understanding him.

____________________________
"An inglorious peace is better than a dishonourable war" ~ John Adams

[–] chixverbil 17 years ago

I don't think Mary Queen of Scots had any real presence in her son's life at all. She ran off to England while he was still quite young, I think.

All I know is my gut says maybe.

[–] voleprobe 17 years ago

1) King James was an infant when Mary left due to poltical reasons. So no french accent passed on there...
2) Being paid by people doesn't transmit their language either! =)

[–] simonski33 17 years ago

It was most definately Ewan Bremner who played King James. His appearence in this TV-adaptation of "Elizabeth I" is in fact nothing more than a brief cameo.
However, you can trust Ewan Bremner to make it a very memorial one!

This is what makes such British costume-drama pure "eyecandy": even in the minor roles, sometimes just for that one scene, the BBC, Channel 4, Granada etc.
will do their utmost to contract the best actor/actress for the job. Hear, hear!

As a piece of historical drama, this version of Elizabeth I = top-notch!

Toby Jones, who plays a lot of "big lugs" in British (crime) drama excels himself in this adaptation. Ripping good stuff allround!

[–] samanthaseaotter 15 years ago

As I understand it, King James was bisexual, as he had no trouble reproducing plenty of kids with his wife.

I did prefer the nuanced version of the role with Robert Carlyle, however - in the end, he did have MORE than grudging respect for his wife although he certainly enjoyed men.

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"We're here. We're dead. Get used to it."

[–] 15 years ago

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