Eve Best as Wallis Simpson
In the original King's Speech script, Best didn't have a single line. Screenwriter David Seidler ended up giving her some dialogue.
Wallis Simpson
She divorced twice before marrying former King Edward VIII, six months after he abdicated the throne. Essentially exiled from the royal family, she and her husband remained controversial celebrities for the rest of their lives as the Duchess and Duke of Windsor.
Guy Pearce as King Edward VIII
He has said growing up in Australia aided him in perfecting the role. "An English actor might have been a bit more fearful about being so raw with this character and possibly irritating that famous royal family that lives down the road. But I'd already been shipped out to Australia. They couldn't ship me any farther," said Pearce.
King Edward VIII
He reigned for less than 11 months before abdicating in 1936 in favor of marrying American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue
He scored a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his role. "As an Australian, I'm as excited to be recognized and honored by the Academy as my character must have been when his London speech therapy business flourished when the future King of England happened to pop by one day," he tells THR.
Lionel Logue
Though he had no medical degree or professional training, Lionel Logue successfully cured the King of his stammer. Their friendship lead to his knighthood as member of the Royal Victorian Order.
Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth
"I wanted to do her justice," the British actress tells THR of playing the Queen (she earned a best actress Oscar nomination). "Not just make her the archetypical woman behind the man in the background ... [I wanted to give her] some authority."
Queen Elizabeth
She was the Queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, accompanying him husband on diplomatic tours to France and the United States in the run-up to World War II. She also supported him as he conquered his stammer and stood by his side as he delivered his rousing 1939 speech.
Colin Firth as King George VI
Though he is most likely to win the best actor Oscar, Firth tells THR, "I was full of doubt a lot of the time" while shooting. "Doubt because we couldn't really know all the history, doubt because I wasn't always sure I was getting to the bottom of things, and I really wanted to."
King George VI
He took over the British throne following his older brother's abdication in 1936. Because of a crippling stutter, he was terribly shy. With the help of an unorthodox Australian speech therapist, he conquered the stammer and famously addressed millions of people around the world in a live radio broadcast on Sept. 3, 1939, after Britain declared war on Germany. A call to patriotism, it was one of the best speeches he had ever made.
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