Trivia Tuesday: Henry’s “Hard to Fill” Boots in Wolf Hall

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

It’s no secret that I am completely psyched about the eight Prime Time Emmy Awards nominations Wolf Hall has received — including Outstanding Actor nominations for both Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis! The anticipation keeps me thinking and writing on Wolf Hall… And, as I do that,  I always keep coming back to… please don’t laugh…. Henry’s boots!

Look at them — they are FANCY and they are BIG! And, now that I am thinking, Wolf Hall scoring a very well-deserved Emmy nomination in costume design as well means Henry’s boots are nominated for an Emmy, too 🙂

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

We talked earlier about the meticulous work the Wolf Hall team put into designing and building the costumes for the cast here and here, and Henry’s boots are no exception.  They look FANCY, and it turns out they really are! Lucy Worsley tells in her Daily Mail article that they are “thigh-high, square-toed black boots, custom-made on the Isle of Wight using traditional techniques.” And, Clare Vyse, assistant costume designer for Wolf Hall, says that these fabulous boots have been influenced by a pair found on the Mary Rose — Henry VIII’s warship.  

It seems Damian Lewis ENJOYED his fancy boots on set, too! Lucy Worsley quotes Damian in her Daily Mail article: “You’ve got to start with the shoes,’ he tells me, quoting Laurence Olivier. ‘If you don’t get the shoes right, you’ll never get your character.'”

He also jokes, when asked by Variety, about how he honed his physique for HenryVIII: “I stuck handkerchiefs down there,” he joked (of his calves), before adding, “No, I wore boots to cover them up.” He also grew a beard and donned square-toed boots, which he thinks “might set a new fashion.”

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

And… these boots look really BIG on TV.

But, do you know how big they are?

I have found out thanks to Twitter 🙂

It all started with Hans Schwarz from Foreign Fiction Acquisitions (Netherlands Public Broadcasting) tweeting about Henry’s boots displayed at the BBC Worldwide Showcase 2015 in Liverpool between February 22 – 25.

source: @hans0schwartz twitter
source: @hans0schwartz twitter

And, I just could not resist the temptation to ask — see our hilarious tweet exchange below 🙂

source: @hansschwarz and @fanfundamian twitter
source: @hansschwarz and @fanfundamian twitter

I knew it! 11 UK. 12US. 45 European. WOW!

Now… I have always known there was no other king like you, Henry, but your boots are LITERALLY too hard to fill! And they sort of make me sing a Nancy Sinatra song, too! 🙂

“These boots are made for walking
And that’s just what they’ll do
One of these days these boots
Are gonna walk all over you.”

source: Daily Mail
source: Daily Mail

Author: Damianista

Academic, Traveler, Blogger, Runner, Theatre Lover, Wine Snob, Part-time New Yorker, and Walking Damian Lewis Encyclopedia :D Procrastinated about a fan's diary on Damian Lewis for a while and the rest is history!

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