Versailles’ Alexander Vlahos talks fan reactions and gay relationships on TV

The Welsh actor plays Philippe in the raunchy period drama
Ben Travis|Toby Earle11 August 2016

After ten weeks, raunchy French period drama Versailles has reached the, ahem, climax of its first series.

The show has been spicing up Wednesday nights on BBC Two with its flamboyant royals, telling the story of Louis XIV’s notorious reign.

The young aristocrat famously moved French royalty from their Parisian base to the small town of Versailles where the now iconic palace stands.

Picking up plaudits along the way has been Welsh actor Alexander Vlahos, who plays Louis’ brother Philippe I – a man who’s desperate to get from under his older sibling’s shadow, and wears women’s clothes to get attention.

Vlahos spoke to Toby Earle about the fan reaction to his character, and why he’s proud of the depiction of Philippe’s homosexual relationship in the series.

“When it goes on screen, it becomes the fans’ character,” he explains of his performance. “They own it more than you do, bizarrely.

“Which is lovely, because it means that you have the ownership while you’re filming, but then you hand over the sort of rites of passage, you hand it over when it goes on screen, you have no more say.”

Versailles - meet the cast

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Speaking of Philippe’s gay romance, Vlahos says: “That’s the one part of Versailles that I’m extremely proud of, our portrayal of this sort of gay relationship.

“The funny thing is that we never say that they’re gay, we never use the word homosexual.

“People see in these two guys, that just so happen to be guys, a beautiful, three-dimensional relationship based on truth, and respect, and deviance – but that’s what any relationship has.”

Versailles Series 1 is available now on DVD and BluRay

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