His six wives are portrayed by Frances Cuka, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Jenny Bos, Lynne Frederick, and Barbara Leigh-Hunt.

Donald Pleasence portrays Thomas Cromwell and Bernard Hepton portrays Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, a role he had also played in the miniseries and briefly in its follow-up Elizabeth R.[2] On his deathbed, Henry VIII reflects upon his long reign, and especially the crucial part his six marriages have played.

Thomas Cromwell, protégé of Cardinal Wolsey, observes Henry's interest in Jane and assists him by presenting a false case of Anne's infidelity with various men of the court, including her own brother, George Boleyn.

Henry marries Jane Seymour, who successfully returns Princess Mary to royal favour and has opinions on the matter of religion, asking for pardons for the participants of the Pilgrimage of Grace.

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer discovers that Catherine has had liaisons before her marriage, and presents this knowledge to Henry, who initially disbelieves the charges.

Cranmer secures a confession from Catherine, who also admits an affair with Thomas Culpeper during her marriage to Henry.

The pair marry, and Catherine becomes a loving stepmother to the royal children Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward.

After the success of Keith Michell's performance in the original BBC series,[3] which focused on the individual wives, it was decided to make a feature film from Henry VIII's point of view.

He was unsure what "to do that hasn't already been done... especially as Keith Michell was gonna play the lead" but felt "it's very hard to just turn something like that down because it's one of my favourite periods in history."

Hussein recalled, "It was very funny because I deliberately put on my Nehru jacket and presented myself as an all Indian director.