Civilisations: Rise and Fall - Aztecs - 12:50 am Friday, December 19 on BBC Two HD

About this Broadcast

Aztecs
Season 1, Episode 3

Sophie Okonedo narrates a look at the Aztecs' battle to save their society from Spanish invaders. At its height, the Aztec civilisation was a vast and well-organised society, ruled by Moctezuma II and centred on the spectacular island city of Tenochtitlan, containing around 100,000 people. But in 1519, the arrival of an avaricious band of Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés became one of the most fateful moments in world history, as the fault lines in the Aztec world were exposed

HD subtitles repeat 16x9 sign-language audio-description

Education/Science/Factual Topics General

Cast & Crew

Sophie Okonedo (Narrator)

David Bedella (Actor) .. Moctezuma

Andressa Cardoso Fernandes (Actor) .. Malintzin

Adam Bond (Actor) .. Cortés

Duncan Singh (Director)

Lindsey Hanlon (Producer)

Anthony Mitchell (Series producer)

Alexander Leith (Executive producer)

More Information

Did You Know..

Sophie Okonedo (Narrator)

Born: January 01, 1969 in London

Best Known For: Her role in Hotel Rwanda.

Early-life: Born on January 1, 1969, in London, to a Jewish mother and Nigerian father. He was a government worker who returned to his native country when Sophie was five, leaving her mother to raise her. She left school at 16 and worked on a clothing stall at Portobello Market. She later attended a writing workshop run by Hanif Kureishi, but discovered she was better at acting in plays than writing them, prompting her to study at Rada. Upon graduating, she embarked on a series of theatrical roles.

Career: Throughout the 1990s, Okonedo steadily built up a body of TV credits, including appearances in Casualty, The Bill and The Governor. She got her break in films with a small role in 1995 Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. She also featured in The Jackal and Mad Cows, but it was Stephen Frears' thriller Dirty Pretty Things that people really began to take notice. More TV work followed in Clocking Off, Never Never and Spooks, before an Oscar-nominated performance in Hotel Rwanda. Other projects include Doctor Who, Tsumani: The Aftermath, The Secret Life of Bees, Skin, Criminal Justice, and Mrs Mandela.

Quote: "I'm pretty secure about who I am. Anything that's truthful I'm not ashamed of."