‘Mary & George’ star Tony Curran calls raunchy show ‘quite liberating’

He just can’t wait to be King. 

Scottish actor Tony Curran co-stars as King James I in the raunchy period drama miniseries “Mary & George,” also starring Julianne Moore. 

“I was saying to my wife, some of the dialogue that I have, I would open a script and go, ‘My god, it’s such a delight to say some of these lines,’” Curran, 54 (“Ray Donovan,” “The Flash”) told The Post. 

“Some of the lines were so fruity, so cutting, so naughty — and, so poignant and tender. The script was full of golden nuggets of dialogue that were fascinating to play.”

Created by D.C. Moore (“Killing Eve,”) and premiering April 5 on Starz (9 p.m.), “Mary & George” is set in the 1600s. Loosely based on a true story, it follows the ruthless and ambitious Mary Villiers (Moore), a former servant who pushes her son, George (Nicholas Galitzine, “Red White and Royal Blue”), to seduce King James I (Curran) – who prefers the company of men –  so that mother and son can both rise from humble origins to become power players in the English court. 

“There was lots that I found fascinating [researching the real King James I], he was one of the first advocates of anti-smoking,” said Curran.

“He called it ‘harmful to the lungs, stinking to the nose.’ He wrote a paper on it; the first anti-smoking paper. And then he found out the economic and fiscal possibilities of tobacco, and that changed his mind!” 

The show has a slew of salacious scenes. And, while some actors such as Penn Badgley have spoken out about their hesitancy to take roles requiring sex and nudity, Curran had no such qualms. 

“I guess if you don’t enjoy doing scenes like this, then why become an actor? That’s the only reason I got into acting to take my clothes off,” he joked. 

“I find it’s a part of the story; the lascivious sexual nature of it,” he said. “I think all these sensual sexual elements are a currency for these characters, and part of their journey, intimacy, tenderness, and ultimately love. Certainly with King James and George. When I spoke to [director Oliver Hermanus] before we started shooting, I knew exactly what I was getting myself in for. It wasn’t without a feeling of, ‘This is quite daunting. This will be interesting, getting in a room with six other men, completely naked, and having a Caravaggio orgy moment.’ 

He added, “But once you get in the positions you’ve already talked about, you’ve discussed it with the intimacy coordinator, the other actors, the director – I was in King James’ head. You’re just happy to go along with it, and bring the character to life.”

In the show, Mary and George don’t immediately succeed at getting the King’s attention. He has a bevy of other male lovers to carry on with, as Mary and George conspire about how to turn his head towards George. 

“Not that I’m anything like Magic Mike, but I do work out a lot and try to keep fit,” said Curran. 

“But because of the era, I wouldn’t imagine he’d be lifting weights. So I stopped working out while I was doing the show, because I didn’t want to look as if I was pumping iron in the Jacobean era. It’s quite liberating, getting involved in those kinds of scenes. It’s something you don’t do every day.”