History does fine without suds, studs

IT’S called bad casting, combined with manipulating historical facts [“Chiseled, Not Grizzled,” April 1]. First we saw Kirsten Dunst play an awful interpretation of Marie Antoinette and now we have Jonathan Rhys Meyers, a 29-year-old, good-looking Irish guy with a limited resume, playing Henry VIII. What next, Claire Danes playing former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright or Tyra Banks portraying Shirley Chisholm (one of the first African American congresswomen)?

There are two premises in the article that couldn’t be further from the truth. The first as stated by Meyers is that “heroes do not look like Henry VIII, and that is just the world we live in.” Well, most Americans see quite a few overweight people every day of the week, including characters on television. It’s also obvious that Meyers hasn’t taken a look at most of today’s heroes outside of Hollywood. They are not all chiseled, and many are grizzled. At 29, I guess Meyers is an authority on this subject.

The second premise implies that history is boring, so the solution by Hollywood is to jazz it up with a soap opera. Does everything on television, including period pieces or serial epics, have to reflect “Desperate Housewives” or “Grey’s Anatomy”? There was a time when you could put a show on the air such as “Roots,” and people would watch because of the captivating story, great actors and historical relevance. Today, Henry VIII goes shirtless.

GREG JENKINS

Long Beach