Making the series believable - Radio Times, October 2005

Features

Making the series believable - Radio Times, October 2005

Christopher Middleton finds out just how much work went into making lavish drama Rome historically credible.

Reflecting the real Rome

"We never think of Rome as having been a colourful place, because Hollywood has always presented us with this idealised image of people in immaculate clothes walking past sparkling clean pillars. The fact is, though, Rome in 52BC was a bright, garish, pagan, filthy, smelly and thoroughly dangerous place to live."
JONATHAN STAMP, historical consultant

Bringing the real Rome to life

"We show both rich and poor, both 'upstairs' and 'downstairs'. We've sought to create a reality that will constantly intrigue and surprise the viewer. The aim is to make sure something is happening in every single street, in every single scene. You won't just see extras doing something vague in the background, you'll know straight away that you're in the fish market, the glass-blowing area or the terracotta pot-making part of town."
FRANK DOELGER, executive producer

"You have to make an effort to build in wonkiness. The backstreet tenements in ancient Rome were poorly constructed and always collapsing, so we've had to give our buildings a bit of a teetering feel, as well as putting in lots of detailed post-construction touches, like painting scorch marks on the walls where fire torches are fixed. We've worked hard at giving this city a lived-in look."
JOSEPH BENNETT, production designer

"Every so often it hits you. The other day I was doing a scene in which Caesar was addressing the Senate. I found myself standing in front of 250 men in white togas all hanging on my every word, and I thought, 'This is what it must have been like for the man himself.' When that sort of thing comes into your head, you just have to take a deep breath, not lose your bottle, and try as best you can not to forget your lines."
CIARÁN HINDS, actor

"Our instructions have been very clear. We've been asked to put together not just a few bits of scenery, but a working metropolis that will last for at least another five years."
JOSEPH BENNETT, production designer

The decision to film in Rome

"I don't know anywhere else in the world where I could find the kind of leather working and metalworking skills that are on offer here. And if you want Roman noses in your crowd shots then, boy, is this the place to be!"
APRIL FERRY, costume designer

The advantages of using a British cast

"We felt that British actors offered us significant advantages. American actors are for the most part perceived as contemporary performers, so when they're in a period drama, they don't come over convincingly to a US audience. It's also something of an HBO tradition to use actors who don't bring their previous work to a project; pretty much no-one knew who Jim Gandolfini was, for example, before he was in The Sopranos. And quite a few of our British cast won't be familiar to US audiences, either.

"The other key factor, I have to say, is cost. It only takes two hours to fly a British actor in to Rome, but it takes nine hours to get here from the States. And that's a lot of air fares saved."
FRANK DOELGER, executive producer

**

Now take a look at our full Rome guide.

Advertiser link