HBO Film's Elizabeth I

Stage and screen veterans Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons head the cast of the new HBO Films miniseries "Elizabeth I," which will debut on the cable network April 22 and 23.

"Elizabeth I" was directed by Tom Hopper. The script, which was penned by screenwriter-novelist Nigel Williams, "explores the intersection of the private and public life of Elizabeth I in the latter half of her reign, offering a personal look at her allies, her enemies and her suitors as she struggled to survive in a male-dominated world."

"The whole story," actress Mirren said in a statement, "is about how the personal and the political come together, and split apart, and come together. So you have this very strong, iconic creature, and within that iconic creature there is an absolutely real person with insecurities and fears and questions and passions. As I've played Elizabeth, I’ve come to deeply understand how those two images exist within the same person, and it gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like to be her."

Adds Jeremy Irons, "Elizabeth is changeable and moody, but she is incredibly strong and politically clever, and the Earl of Leicester, her lifelong friend, adores her with a passion. Much of our story is about her decision to remain unmarried for political ends, despite their mutual love for each other."

-Andrew Gans for Playbill News