Exclusive: stars of royal drama Máxima talk telling Willem-Alexander and Máxima's love story: 'It wasn't just a fairy tale'
Queen Máxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands' love story was brought to the small screen in a new royal drama earlier this year. The series titled Máxima, starring Delfina Chaves as Máxima Zorreguieta and Martijn Lakemeier as then-Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, is based on Marcia Luyten’s book Máxima Zorreguieta: Motherland.
While it's a royal drama, Martijn noted in an exclusive interview with HELLO! that Máxima is "quite a different kind of series" compared to The Crown, which he admittedly loved. "Just to be clear, we didn't necessarily have the same kind of budget and time to pull the same trick," he laughed.
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Máxima, produced by Millstreet Films in co-production with FBO and Beta Film, explores the life of the Argentinian-born Queen of the Netherlands. Delfina, who hails from the same country as the title character, told HELLO! that they did everything "with much respect for the real people."
Months after the show debuted on RTL Netherlands’ streaming service Videoland, Martijn and Delfina had yet to hear feedback from the Dutch Royal House. "I understand that they don't or wouldn't watch it because it must be quite frustrating: a bunch of people making a series about your life that you've never talked to, even though we've done it with a lot of respect again and close to reality as possible," Martijn said. "And also, it's a beautiful story."
"We're not being necessarily super critical about what they've done or what has happened," the Dutch actor continued. "It's just a beautiful story of how two people fell in love and how they did everything to make sure that it will work out."
But, as Delfina pointed out, Máxima and Willem-Alexander's story "wasn't just a fairy tale." "She had to sacrifice a lot and they had to overcome a lot of things," the Argentinian actress said of Máxima, including not having her father, Jorge Zorreguieta, at her wedding in 2002.
The Queen's story will continue in season 2, which is expected to begin shooting this fall. Delfina teased, "The end of season [one] is about Máxima winning their hearts, or finding a way in order to get into this family. I think season two is the continuity of Máxima in that family."
She added, "It's about, I think, how humble she has to be and all the things that she has to sacrifice about herself in order to really enter this world because I think in season one she saw how hard it was going to be, but she overcame the most difficult test. And I think staying is far more difficult than getting there."
Continue reading for more from HELLO!'s exclusive interview with the stars of Máxima: Delfina Chaves and Martijn Lakemeier.
How familiar were you guys with the Dutch royal family before signing on to the project?
Martijn: I was obviously. I grew up with them and we celebrate King's Day every year. So yeah, I'm familiar. I mean, living in a country that has a monarchy and yeah, I mean, I was a little bit too young for the period of the timeframe that the story's about in this series... I was a little bit too young for that. I knew them, but I think for you [Delfina] that's different.
Delfina: No for me, it was actually the opposite. If I have to be honest. I remember when this whole thing about 'yeah this Argentinean that met a King to be, a guy in the Netherlands and she apparently was going to become a Queen'... I remember all the magazines writing about it and people being super confused because yeah, my country obviously has nothing to do with the monarchy and we are not close to any country that [has]. I mean it's very far to us. And I knew Máxima by magazines and she's always in Bueno Aires on the cover of HOLA! actually. I think I saw her in the cover because of the way she was dressed or whatever. But not more than that.
Having attended King's Day in the past, have you ever interacted with the royal family, Martijn?
Martijn: No. No, I've never met them. No. No.
Did working on the show change either of your perspectives on royalty?
Martijn: I guess a little bit in the sense that I feel like I've gotten a bit more respect and understanding for what it's like to, I mean, as I've been playing Willem Alexander, I've been researching and looking into it, how it is to grow up and to be born into a royal family and to not really have the choice of what your future is going to be like, and the need for a feeling of certain freedom in other things for that sense and how important it was for him to find someone to share his life with and be happy as a family, you know, like just normal people stuff. I think that's what this series is really about, this sort of universal feeling of love that grew between them.
Delfina: For me, it was yeah, as I said before, it was a new world. So there was everything to discover. The rules and the protocols. But for me, it was very interesting to find out all the things that Máxima had to sacrifice in order to, yeah, to be able to be with the person she loves, and she even had to sacrifice her own citizenship, her Argentinian citizenship and learn a new language and yeah, and have to make a lot of sacrifices in terms of like her family as well. Having to have difficult conversations with her father. So for me, it was like yeah, all the things- not so much about the royalty, but all the things you have to give up in order to get into the royal family.
How did you prepare for these roles? Did you have an opportunity to speak with people who are close to the family [who] could provide insight into their lives?
Delfina: Well, not really. No. The series is based on Motherland. A book that is written by Marcia Luyten and she had the opportunity to talk to people that are close to Máxima. She had the authorization... We don't have any contact with the royal family, Máxima whatsoever... But that also gave us the freedom to say okay, we're going to tell this story, of course, it's fiction, but we didn't have to be authorized by anyone in order to tell the story a certain way. So I think there's a lot of, yeah, there's a big opportunity for creativity there as well.
Were there any challenges for you guys playing these roles? Maybe learning Dutch for you [Delfina]?
Delfina: Yeah. Yeah. For me, it was I think by far [it was] the most difficult thing I have to do for the series and in my life. It was crazy. I had a lot of months to prepare... As soon as they told me that I got the part, I started preparing for it and that's the first thing that they sent me as well [Máxima's monologue] because they knew that it was going to take time. And for me that was, yeah, very challenging. Of course, being far from home and apart from my family and spending so many months in a country where I didn't know anybody, so that was challenging, but for sure the Dutch was like I can say-
Martijn: Also, good preparation for you because that's what Máxima had to do as well [laughs].
Delfina: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Of course.
Martijn: For me, I was just really interested in his younger years and his behavior was very, something that a lot of people know, but his relationship with the press wasn't very good when he was younger because he was like- rebelling against his obligations. I thought that was very interesting. Other than that, I gained some weight for it. So that was also an interesting process and quite hard... As to what you were saying, like what were the challenges necessarily in preparation, but also in the process itself. What you [Delfina] were saying as well as to the creative freedom that we got to take. Like you also have a certain responsibility, of course, to tell the story a certain way that is believable and we want to stay as close to reality as possible, while also adding a little bit of a dramatic layer here and there and we don't know what has been said exactly from word to word behind closed doors. But I think that was a challenge as well. Super fun, but also challenging to really try to understand and think like what has been going on here? And how can we portray that as believable as possible?
Was it intimidating playing these two real people who are around today, who could watch [or] hear from friends?
Martijn: I mean, it's somewhere in the back of your mind, of course, that the situation is like that. I think I'm speaking for the both of us when I say that we were also able to let it go, and that's also thanks to the team and the directors and the scripts... We felt the freedom to have fun with playing the scenes without constantly being aware that we're playing the King and the Queen... So, yes and no.
Delfina: Yeah. I think it also had to do with the fact that we were not really trying to imitate them. There are certain things, for example, that last episode... they're gonna get married and they talk to the press. That one sticks to the reality very much... When I had my first meeting with Saskia [Diesing], that's one of the directors, she told me that she wasn't looking for any imitation, or like you could see maybe a scene and see Máxima. That's the fun of the whole thing as well to just like portray the kind of Máxima that people don't know, especially in this season that is before she became famous. It's her years where she was partying and maybe she was meeting other people and her upbringing and her family. I think all those things, it was just about imagining and, yeah, getting creative I guess.
Has the show gotten any feedback from the Royal House or [have you] heard if any family members have tuned into the show?
Martijn: No, not really. I mean, [there've] been stories that they kept on saying that they weren't going to watch it. So, no. No. No feedback whatsoever [laughs].
Delfina: They had like a public appearance, [where] they got asked if they were going to watch the series and they, in a very respectful way, they said, especially Máxima, she said like "I know what my story is and how things went and I don't need anybody to tell me." But, then she said something that I think is quite interesting that she also said that she celebrates that there's like freedom of speech and freedom of like, yeah, just writing a story about the royal family in such a free way... I was kind of surprised as well the first time I read the scripts. I was like can you even say this about the royal family? Can you like show her with other guys before she met him? I think that's where lies the whole interesting side of the series.
How would you want them to react to your portrayals of them on screen? What response would you find most rewarding?
Martijn: The most rewarding would be of course to hear that it has enough resemblance for them to the reality, but I mean, it probably won't. I think it's very hard to create a series in which the real people, or the real person will be like, "Wow, that's exactly how it went." I mean that probably hardly ever happens. I understand that they don't or wouldn't watch it because it must be quite frustrating: a bunch of people making a series about your life that you've never talked to, even though we've done it with a lot of respect again and close to reality as possible. And also, it's a beautiful story.... We're not being necessarily super critical about what they've done or what has happened. It's just a beautiful story of how two people fell in love and how they did everything to make sure that it will work out. So, in that sense, it's a lot of positivity, I guess.
Were you both fans of The Crown when that was on?
Delfina: To be honest, I've never seen it [laughs]. I wasn't very much into royal families whatsoever. Yeah, if I have to be honest, I've never seen it. Have you [Martijn] seen it?
Martijn: Yeah, I have. Yeah. I love it.
Delfina: Everybody loves it.
Martijn: It's so well done. Yeah. Just to be clear, we didn't necessarily have the same kind of budget and time to pull the same trick [laughs]. It's quite a different kind of series as well.
Delfina, did this show pique your interest in the royal family or other royals since you didn't watch The Crown and weren't familiar with the Dutch royals?
Delfina: Yeah, for sure. Everything was new to me. I didn't know anything. Especially in the last episode, because in the last episodes that she had to be dressed a certain way or had to do the public appearance when she had to talk to the press... We have such an amazing wardrobe team and they were so sure about like, "Yeah, the dress has to be this long. And then yeah, this part has to be a certain way and then the hair" and the way they have to present themselves. Imagine for me playing Máxima like in her 20s or before she even knew, of course when she was 20 she didn't even know that she was going to become a Queen or whatever. And then you could tell like the wardrobe that I was using, and then the way that she was talking and the words that she would use, all of a sudden they all change and they had to be adapting the protocol and everything. I didn't even know that there was so much. You could say, at least for me, my ignorance about royal families, that even the Netherlands, it's just such an open country and everything, but still a royal family, they have a lot of protocols they have to follow. To me, it's just mind blowing. The fact that they have to follow.
Martijn: Yeah. I would never be able.
Delfina: Again, when I was playing her early years, I was even like facing the question of like how is this woman going to become a Queen? Like she was so free and the way she danced. That's one of the reasons why I admire Maxima, that she was able to fit in their role staying true to herself. But she was just like in New York, and she was working very tough and she was traveling and staying so close to Argentina. You keep asking yourself, how did she do that? I mean, it's just impressive to me.
I love that Willem-Alexander tells Máxima on the show that he doesn't want her to change. I would like to think that maybe he actually told her that in real life.
Martijn: Apparently he did.
Oh, he did?
Martijn: Yeah, yeah. Because I personally thought it was a bit of a too cheesy line and then, yeah, the director and assistant director have done a lot of research that helped us a lot because we had a source of like so many interviews and videos that we used as a way of preparation. But yeah, they knew somehow that he actually said that to her when he proposed to her.
I love that. Now, you guys have great chemistry on screen. How did you work to develop that?
Martijn: I guess there was a lot of resemblance in the way that like she came to the Netherlands to shoot this show. We obviously had some time in preparation and rehearsals too. I showed her around Amsterdam a little bit. So that was a way for us to get to know each other. And I don't know other than that is was- we went to New York to shoot the first couple of shooting days. Afterwards, we went to Spain, shooting in Spain. So it was all like a really cool, cool experience and a ride to live together.
Delfina: Yeah, and a lot of work as well. Of course, every time you watch something like this, it's just the two of us on screen. Many amazing and very talented actors, but there's so many people working behind the cameras, as you know. Teamwork and so many minds thinking and working on the scripts and, of course, they did so much research about their life, how things go... A lot of rehearsal and a lot of desk work, as I call it. Like okay, let's imagine how this went and what is more fun. I think, in those scenes where they're falling in love, it's just we had fun, which I think is such an important element in shooting that we're just playing a game.
What do you think makes Máxima and Willem-Alexander's love story so special?
Delfina: So genuine.
Martijn: Yeah. It's super genuine. They're just like really in love, you know? And you can see that. Yeah, I don't know. There's nothing really special about that, it's just the simple fact that they're really in love... It wasn't very simple for them to make it all happen.
Delfina: All the things that they had to go.
Martijn: Yeah, all the things that they had to go through and to overcome to eventually get married because they were just so sure that they wanted to.
Delfina: Yeah and the fact that they come from such different cultures, as well. I think that makes it interesting, as well. Because even nowadays, you can tell that they come from such different worlds and they managed to create something new... I feel like the circumstances are really weird. Like bizarre. I don't know. It's such a fantasy, the fact that they met in Spain and she was coming from New York and he's a King to be and the two families, and what did she say to her parents whenever they found out that she was gonna marry or she was in a relationship with a King to be. It's like so crazy those things.
Like you said, fantasy. Did telling this story kind of make you believe in the "fairy tale," or did it influence your perception of romance?
Delfina: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know-
Martijn: [Laughs]
Delfina: What?
Martijn: I was thinking that the whole fairy tale vibe and the romance is there for a short period and then reality hits. You know?
Delfina: But also this series shows that. Especially people, like for me, for example, that we didn't know the story and we thought that it was just a fairy tale like "Oh my gosh, she comes from such a different country. All of a sudden she becomes a Queen and whatever." Especially because I was very young when this announcement that they were going to get engaged and whatever happened, so I didn't know all the things that they had to go through. So I think this series is also about like, yeah, showing that it wasn't just a fairy tale story. She had to sacrifice a lot and they had to overcome a lot of things. She had to say no to her father at her wedding. I mean, those things must have really hurt. The fact that [to] take a step into your future and the life that you want to have, but for that you have sacrifice your family, which I think is the most precious thing we have.
What can fans expect in season two?
Martijn: A continuation of the story [laughs].
Delfina: The end of season [one] is about Máxima winning their hearts, or finding a way in order to get into this family. I think season two is the continuity of Máxima in that family. It's about, I think, how humble she has to be and all the things that she has to sacrifice about herself in order to really enter this world because I think in season one she saw how hard it was going to be, but she overcame the most difficult test. And I think staying is far more difficult than getting there. So I think she's gonna realize all the challenges that being accepted in this family [means].
Martijn: Yeah. To know Dutch culture. Like getting to know the country. It's gonna be a little bit more inside the royal family.
Delfina: I'm super excited.
Is there one of Máxima's looks from those days that you're excited to [wear on the show]?
Delfina: Well, I mean, the wedding dress! I think that's gonna be, that's my favorite. I think that scene is going to be... I'm already nervous in advance and I have no idea when we're going to shoot it, but I'm really nervous about that one, but I cannot wait to see that dress.
Are there plans to bring the story closer to present day because The Crown avoided that? How many seasons are they envisioning for the series?
Martijn: I'm not sure to be honest. We didn't necessarily sign for a certain amount of seasons or whatever.
Delfina: We're really excited that this story is continuing. We'll see how far it gets and I really hope that people are keeping so interested about the story in order to keep on writing about it. We really hope it gets far. We'll see, I guess.
Martijn: There's a fair chance that if it continues any further after a second season, they're gonna let us go because we're gonna be too young [laughs].
Having done research, what story would you like to bring to the small screen with Máxima and Willem-Alexander?
Martijn: There are so many interesting things and a lot of them are all gonna come to the screen in the second season. A lot of things are going to happen. Good things and sad things. I'm just really excited for all those things that are gonna happen...
Delfina: I'm super excited. I read the scripts and there's so many things that, still, I didn't know that it happened that way... I understand the hype for royal stories or whatever. Somebody can tell you that things went this way, but another thing is to really get behind closed doors and actually see the people having to ask themselves these bizarre questions... Sometimes I read the script and it's like, how are we going to do this? Or sometimes I ask myself like did this really happen? And they're like "Yeah, it went this way," which is so crazy because you [would] never have expected... Behind doors, there's so many things that they have to prepare and there's so many things that they're forced to do and you see them in front of a camera smiling, but before that, they had to go through so much. Especially Máxima [who was] not used to any of that at that time at all. So that, for me, is so interesting to act.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
