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I directed The Uprising – and this is why Wat Tyler is my hero

I directed The Uprising – and this is why Wat Tyler is my hero

Film director and scriptwriter Paul Greengrass chooses Wat Tyler (d1381) as his history hero

York Membery

Published: November 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM

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Wat Tyler was a leader during the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England. Little is known of his early life; he was first recorded in historical sources when he led a group of rebels from Canterbury to London in the wake of the introduction of a universal poll tax by boy king Richard II’s government. In June, Tyler met with the king in London to present the rebels’ demands and, initially, seemed to secure concessions, but fighting broke out and he was killed. The revolt was quickly quashed.

When did you first hear about Tyler?

From school and from [educational magazine] Look and Learn – and my dad always loved to tell stories from history.

What kind of man was he?

We know very, very little about Tyler – he’s a fascinating figure because he comes from nowhere. Within days [of first appearing in historical records] he’s playing this decisive role in English history – then he’s dead. It’s a walk-on part of immense significance.

There are no extant records that show for sure where he came from, though he clearly had extensive roots in Kent. He may well have been a tiler originally, hence the name. Most historians agree that he must have had military experience. There’s pretty good evidence that there were a lot of soldiers in and around the Kent area who had been fighting in France. Part of the combustible mix of elements that gave rise to the Peasants’ Revolt was the fact that soldiers hadn’t been paid properly.

Read more | Who was the real Wat Tyler of The Uprising?

What made him a hero?

Leading the Kent rebels. It’s very clear that they had specific economic and political demands about the end of feudalism. They also wanted to be free from laws applied to keep them down, and had demands that touched on political rights to do with representation as we would understand it today.

What was Tyler’s finest hour?

When he showed his extraordinary leadership abilities. He had a group of veterans, probably ex-military comrades, but the majority of the rebels were people from villages – men and women – coming to petition the king. In a matter of days he somehow fashioned them into an orderly force.

Read more | Is The Uprising a true story? Here’s the real history behind the Peasants' Revolt

Is there anything that you don’t particularly admire about Tyler?

Some historians tend to put Tyler in the ‘hard-faced men’ camp of radicals who push too far and ultimately lose. Maybe that’s true, but we’ll never know because the story of the Peasants’ Revolt is told by the victors. Also, I don’t think anybody could look at the rebels’ demands and say they were unreasonable. I think that’s something that, even today, some historians seem to forget.

Can you see any parallels between his life and yours?

When I started writing The Uprising, it felt incredibly contemporary. It shows you that not much changes in history. I’m not saying that we’re going to have a Peasants’ Revolt – that would be preposterous – but I think there’s that same anger, that same disconnect, that same steep inequality that foments greater rage.

What would you ask Wat Tyler if you could meet him?

What exactly happened at the end? Was he simply assassinated in full view of everybody?

This article was first published in the November 2026 issue of HistoryExtra Magazine

Authors

York MemberyJournalist

York Membery is a regular contributor to BBC History Magazine, the Daily Mail and Sunday Times among other publications. York, who lives in London, worked on the Mirror, Express and Times before turning freelance. He studied history at Cardiff University and the Institute of Historical Research, and has a History PhD from Maastricht University.