The Last Czars is a six-part docudrama series on Netflix about the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia after he was forced to abdicate on March 15, 1917, following the February Revolution. Express.co.uk spoke to The Last Czars stars Ben Cartwright and Susanna Herbert about filming on the series.
The Last Czars is set in Russia during the reign of Tsar Nicholas II.
Tsar Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from November 1, 1894, until March 15, 1917.
Across six episodes, the series features dramatised scenes of the Tsar’s reign, alongside historians given their expert opinion on events.
The Last Czars was filmed mainly in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania.
Some scenes of The Last Czars was also filmed across the border at Rundale Palace in Latvia.
At the same time, HBO’s Chernobyl was filming in Vilnius.
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Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Cartwright who plays Rasputin the series explained that as Chernobyl brought mostly their own crew, the production team of The Last Czars relied on local talent.
Cartwright also revealed that The Last Czars used the same purpose-built sets that were used in BBC’s War and Peace and some of their filming locations.
He said: “It’s [Vilnius] stunning. We filmed mainly in Lithuania and a little bit of Latvia but it was all the same sets used for BBC’s War and Peace.
“We were in genuine places, genuine Russian Orthodox Churches, genuine icons, palaces and all that sort of stuff. It just helped the whole thing look absolutely incredible.
Susanna Herbert who plays Tsarina Alexandra in The Last Czars added: “We mostly filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania – Chernobyl was being filmed there at the same time.
“We shot in real palaces – War and Peace was filmed in some of the same locations. We also shot in a palace called Rundale in Latvia which was designed by the same architect as the Winter Palace in St Petersburg.
“It was an incredible experience – I was pinching myself throughout a lot of it! I definitely recommend going to Vilnius for anyone who hasn’t been.”
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War and Peace was filmed in St Petersburg, Lithuania and Latvia in 2015.
The series was a six-part adaption of the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
The series starred Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, Brian Vox and Jessie Buckley.
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Chernobyl aired over May 2019 and has since been rated the best series of all time on IMDb.
The HBO series dramatises the Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant disaster that occurred on April 26, 1986, starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson.
The cast of Chernobyl mainly filmed in and around the city of Vilnius in 2018, which represented Pripyat in the series.
Chernobyl was also filmed at sister power plant Ignalina near Vilnius.
The Last Czars is streaming on Netflix now
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