Trivia / Anne of the Thousand Days

• Ability over Appearance: Richard Burton was considerably smaller than the real Henry VIII.
• Acclaimed Flop: Despite the good critical reception and Oscar nominations, the film lost money.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Elizabeth Taylor lobbied for the role of Anne Boleyn, wanting to act alongside her husband. She was turned down because they decided she was too old at thirty-seven. She makes a cameo as a masked courtesan.
• Creator Backlash: Richard Burton hated the film, and was shocked when he got an Oscar nomination for it.
• Creator Cameo: Richard Burton's wife Elizabeth Taylor has a cameo as a masked courtesan who interrupts Queen Catherine's prayers.
• Dawson Casting: It's heavily stressed that Anne is "barely eighteen" when she first meets Henry. Geneviève Bujold was in her mid-twenties (Ironically that is likely to have been the real Anne Boleyn’s age when she met Henry). But of course she plays Anne over the course of several years, matching their ages by the end of the film.
• Fake Brit:
  • French-Canadian actress Geneviève Bujold plays Anne Boleyn. Of course Anne did spend several years in France, giving this a quasi justification. Genevieve also dubbed her own voice in the French version of the movie.
  • Greek-Canadian actor John Colicos plays Thomas Cromwell.
• Fake Nationality: Greek actress Irene Papas as the Spanish-born Queen Catherine.
• Prop Recycling: A jacket Henry wears appears in Carry On Henry.
• Real-Life Relative: Richard Burton's daughter Kate has an uncredited role as a serving maid.
• Reality Subtext: Elizabeth Taylor was on set, convinced that Genevieve Bujold and her husband Richard Burton were having an affair, rather paralleling Henry and Anne's affair.
• Star-Making Role: Subverted. Geneviève Bujold was poised to become a star with this film, but chose to break her contract with Universal and stay away from big films, eventually returning to Canada and acting almost exclusively there.
• Uncredited Role: Hugh Futcher as a heckler.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Olivia Hussey claims in her autobiography she was approached about the role of Anne Boleyn, as well as True Grit. Due to youthful nerves, she said something to the effect of "John Wayne doesn't do much for me", and the offer was rescinded. Julie Christie, Faye Dunaway, Charlotte Rampling and Jean Simmons also turned it down.
  • At one point, Hal B. Wallis wanted Peter O'Toole and Geraldine Chaplin to star.

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