Interviewing celebrities is something I have done hundreds of times, but very few have actually intimidated me. Not because of anything that they’ve said or done, but because you knew as you that you were sitting in the presence of greatness and unbelievable talent.
Alicia von Rittberg embodies both of those things. A young actress from Germany, is quite literally royalty. She’s a countess, though she doesn’t use that title professionally. Her family is the noble and ancient German house of Rittberg, which is thought to date back to the 16th century.
Being of German descent and spending a lot of my childhood there, I was aware of her family name (though I didn’t say that to her). Though when speaking to Alicia, knowing where she came from, doesn’t define who she is.
But Alicia, she’s set out from a young age to make a life that is her own. She’s been acting since six and has a lengthy resume. Though I haven’t seen her in anything else than Becoming Elizabeth, seeing her in this series, I will definitely be following her anywhere.
As I logged into Zoom for my interview, I heard the usual, ‘slate your name’, before this vibrant red head came onto the screen. Alicia has a presence, one that you see on the screen in her acting and one that shines even when you are just sitting there having a conversation.
She said hello and before she could get another word in, I let my inner fangirl freak flag fly.
“Before I even ask a question, I have to tell you that you were phenomenal. I’ve only seen four episodes, but you have this vulnerability, but also this strength, where no matter what happened to Elizabeth, I was like she’s gonna kick ass. She’s got something coming. It was just amazing.” I found myself saying.
Embarrassed as I was, she smiled and thanked me. I should ask personal questions, but I never really have with interviews. And because of how great Alicia is in Becoming Elizabeth, all I wanted to know was her thoughts on the ‘virgin queen’ and how she took on the role. We dove in to talking about Becoming Elizabeth.
I swore I would never ask someone why they took on a role, but with as many times as the role of Elizabeth I has been taken on, one has to wonder why one would take on the role. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad she did.
“Well I think I was just so excited to learn more about the person, this iconic figure, from the [history] books. To be honest what you just said, that vulnerability and yet still that strength in being vulnerable and emotional. To show that in a female leader, something we don’t do often enough and have to learn yet as well. Not to try just to become [quiet} but become louder and less emotional in order to be respectful as leaders. That was just something very tempting I found so very beautiful,” Alicia said.
The Elizabeth that Alicia plays is not one that we see a lot of. This era of her life is when she was coming into her own, right after her fathers death, and her and her siblings trying to find their way. But that’s hard when the three of you are pawns in other peoples quest for power.
Even with being in line to the throne, Elizabeth wasn’t always able to make a lot of her own choices. Not being able to make her own decisions was something that confused Elizabeth. She was set up to be afraid, fearful for her life, and yet there was a strength around Elizabeth that her siblings didn’t seem to have.
The confusion and the inability to make her own decisions could have taken many turns so we asked, “Do you feel like that really set Elizabeth up for success for when she took back her power. That that made her more determined to make decisions that benefited her?”
Because the truth was that watching this show made me wonder, were the moves that Elizabeth made calculated.
“I think that it just influenced the way that she made decisions. I think it taught her how to take herself back, observe, learn, and then make an informed decision. Never jump to any conclusions. Never force anything.” she said, “But just choose your fights so wisely and wait for her time to come. I think it just shows her brilliance, her intelligence, her master mind. It’s something beautiful to discover.”
And when you watch the show that will all make sense. Because the truth is that this version of Elizabeth is one that we’ve never seen, but part of that is the brilliance of Alicia’s portrayal.
Elizabeth I had a mark on her back from a young age, partly because of you know just being royalty, but mostly because of who her mother was, Anne Boylen. Alicia had expressed a lot about how Elizabeth had taken a quieter road, but I wondered if she thought that was because she wanted to learn or because she wanted to stay alive?
“Over all she wanted to stay alive. In order to do so, she had to learn as much as possible and had to react to any sort of situation she was basically thrown into. I think the fact that she was in line to the throne to illegitimate, it’s just being a no one in that world could mean a head on your spike tomorrow. Being in line to the throne, everyone looks at you and waits for you to make a decision. I think that those two worlds made her understand that she had to be prepared for anything. I think she just masterfully became a chameleon in her life and was able to adapt to every possible situation.” she expressed about what she thought.
I had to wonder if she realized that she was able to convey that on the screen. Because Alicia definitely did.
The use of the term role model is something that I don’t take lightly, because it’s a strong term. Elizabeth’s sister Mary, quite frankly scared me. But Elizabeth, she felt like someone that the world could learn from. If you were in line to the throne at that time or wanted to play royal politics.
But she felt like a role model in the sense that we should all really take in what around and really learn from it and observe and really implement a plan vs coming balls to the wall.
“What do you really hope that people take away from Elizabeth, the way she was and the way that you portrayed her?” we asked the actress.
“First of all I think that there is not black and white, and there are no heroes and there are no villains. There are always two sides to everything,” she said in regards to Elizabeth’s story.
She continued, “Allow yourself to understand the bigger picture rather than being influenced and jump to conclusions, as you’re seeing just a small piece of it. I think that’s something she really mastered during her youth.”
“For example I watched an interview with Lady Diana. I thought it so beautiful how vulnerable and soft she is, yet how many people had such respect for her. That’s what I would love to see so much more nowadays. That you don’t try to adapt to a male way of showing strength and getting respect, but we allow softer voices to be heard as well.” she finished off.
And those are words that I think that we can all live by and learn from.
Alicia is the type of actress that draws you in and transports you out of the place that you are in. She makes you feel like this is not a television show, but rather life. Alicia von Rittberg is an actress that knows her craft, but also one that doesn’t seem to realize just how talented she is.
Becoming Elizabeth premieres on June 12th.
