Meet Tom Austen, the dashing young actor who portrays Jasper on The Royals, the exciting new series created by Mark Schwahn that is centered around a fictional modern-day British monarchy starring Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena.
E! News sat down with Tom for a special interview over tea and strumpets, where he gave us the exciting scoop on what it was like to work with Elizabeth, why he doesn't want his grandmother to watch the show, and much more.
"I have some scenes in the series with Elizabeth," Tom revealed. "They were definitely fun to do. She's just a really super, down-to-earth lady. She's super-hot, she's just really cool. There could be a worse way to spend your day, right?"
When asked about his views on royalty, Tom was nonchalant and explained that in Britain, it's not as big of a deal.
"You (Americans) don't have to live with them," he pointed out. "We grow up with them, they're there all the time at ceremonial events and other British stuff you guys don't see. I guess because we see them all the time and they're such a big part of our culture, it makes us less interested in them and what they're doing."
Tom may not play a royal on the show but he admits there were plenty of exciting challenges in his role as the sexy bodyguard to Princess Eleanor (played by Alexandra Park), which is full of unexpected surprises that will be revealed over the course of the season.
"He's a very mysterious character," Tom explained. "Sometimes so mysterious that I don't even know what's going on. The great thing about my character is that you never know what to expect from him. There's a lot of stuff that only Mark and me know about, so there's a lot of secrets on set."
"I think it's really exciting to be part of a show that is really uncompromising," Tom added. "It's about the lives of these people and it doesn't try to pretend that they would try to do anything different than the way they would. They're all human beings with flaws, some more than others, and the show doesn't shy away from that. It doesn't try to dumb it down or pacify it for an audience. It goes for it. And that's what I love about being part of The Royals. It's dangerous."
While it isn't clear yet how British viewers will take to The Royals, one thing is for certain—Tom isn't going to encourage his grandmother to watch the show anytime soon!
"My grandma is a huge royal fan," he said. "She is so pro-royal family and I haven't quite had the heart to explain to her what the premise of the show is yet. I think she thinks that I'm playing Prince William and that we've just changed the names of them, so I think I'm just gonna let her believe that for a bit. My family is a huge supporter but I'm not sure if my grandma will be after she sees it."
E!'s new scripted series The Royals premieres Sunday, March 15 at 10 p.m.! Follow The Royals on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates!