Blacksmith's son rises in Kin Henry VIII's court. Year 2015 Video Release 2015-04-28 Studio PBS Genre TV Miniseries MPAA Rating Not Rated Color Color Runtime 360 Animated Live-Action Full Synopsis Tony R Award-winning actor Mark Rylance Twelfth Night and Emmy R and Golden Globe R Award-winner Damian Lewis Homeland star in the miniseries adapted from Hilary Mantel's best-selling Booker Prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies. Mark Rylance is Thomas Cromwell, a brutal blacksmith's son who rises from the ashes of personal disaster, and deftly picks his way through a court where 'man is wolf to man.' Damian Lewis is King Henry VIII, obsessed with protecting the Tudor dynasty by securing his succession with a male heir to the throne. Told from Cromwell's perspective, Wolf Hall follows the complex machinations and back room dealings of this pragmatic and accomplished power broker who must serve king and country while dealing with deadly political intrigue, Henry VIII's tempestuous relationship with Anne Boleyn Claire Foy, Little Dorrit , and the religious upheavals of the Protestant reformation.