Thomas Boleyn in “The Tudors”

For Dunning, playing power-mad aristocrat a timeless role

Nick Dunning doesn’t judge.

The actor stars as Thomas Boleyn in “The Tudors”, which ends its second season Sunday at 9 p.m. on Showtime. As the father of Anne Boleyn, the power-hungry Thomas orchestrated his daughter’s rise to the throne and then stood witness as she was labeled a traitor and sentenced to death.

“First thing I do is take off all the judgment on the character, always,” Dunning said. “Because I don’t think people really believe what they are doing is what you might consider to be bad or wrong or evil. They tend to do it out of necessity or out of belief that what they are doing is the right thing. Are you using your daughters for your own end entirely or are you actually doing what you think is the best thing for them at the time? I can totally understand somebody being in that dilemma.”

Dunning sees a modern connection to the 16th century aristocrat.

“Is he that different than (those) corporate barons today who go off and do extraordinary things and they’re all off making money and flying around the world and their children are drug addicts in rehab?” he mused. “Is it that different? I’m not so sure it is. I see it a lot. People get hooked on status and power.”

The Irish actor also has sympathy for his character and his fate.

“He had virtually all his titles taken away. He had his land taken away from him. He lost his daughter and his son. They were both executed, and he was present at the execution. What does that do to you? The ending is just awful. Ghastly.”

Although Thomas is spared in the finale, Dunning won’t be back for the show’s third season. King Henry (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and the series have moved on to Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour (Anita Briem).

“I have a fantasy of him ending up in a cupboard somewhere and just appearing on set one day,” he said and then laughed. “I think that would be fun. Just showing him popping his head out.”

Next up for Dunning is a BBC film about the life of British TV host Hughie Green, a movie with Colin Farrell and the Harold Pinter play “No Man’s Land.” Dunning said he knew he wanted to be an actor when he was 5 and played the prince of the fairies in a stage production of “Thumbelina.”

“I do remember standing in the wings waiting to go on and I do remember that being a very important moment. That’s what I’m still in contact with today. I still feel kind of excited and in the wings, waiting to go on, waiting to do things.”