Wednesday, December 22

A Coincidence Of The Devil

John Lilburne - Freeborn JohnActor Tom Goodman-Hill auditioned for and got the role of John Lilburne in UK Channel 4 television's The Devil's Whore.

John Lilburne, also known as Freeborn John, was an English political agitator before, during and after the English Civil Wars of 1642 to 1650. The 'Freeborn' part of his often quoted name was because he coined the term 'Freeborn Rights' - these were rights which he believed every human being is born with.

Tom Goodman-Hill as John LilburneNow the interesting bit to all of this is that it turns out that, by coincidence, actor Tom Goodman-Hall is a direct descendant of John Lilburne. He was, therefore, acting out his relatives life nearly 400 years later.

Tom has traced his family back for many generations and confirmed, "Although it's 16 generations ago, I can trace my father's family back to John Lilburne's Uncle Joseph."

He added, "Playing one of my relatives made it more exciting but harder because I wanted to do John justice. I'm proud to be have been part of it."

It seems we are all linked to our past and sometimes these links can intermingle with our present lives - often for a reason.

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3 comments:

  1. Good one! I like the idea of freeborn and the rights with which we're all born.

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  2. I remember the film - the title stuck in my memory for some reason! This time and space thing always amazes and yet puzzles me.

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  3. Very interesting post. I believe that everything happens for a reason. Even the bad things. An excellent post Mike.

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