Oh, and on the issue of Henry's looks - well, I've decided that looks are not the main issue in trying to portray a historic character. It may have mattered how they looked when they were alive in terms of how others saw them, but I'm guessing few dared to tell Henry VIII that he was not attractive; I'm guessing he saw himself as attractive (just read his letters to Anne last night), and that others reflected that back to him. In order to capture that essential appeal of a monarch of the 16th century, a handsome actor (by today's standards) had to be cast.
It's true that physical strength would have enhanced the real Henry VIII's appeal as a king, and that is not portrayed by casting JRM (if I had cast him, I would have kept his arms covered up more, but again, in trying to appeal to young modern audiences and give him the appeal/allure that the real Henry VIII would have had for his subjects as he went progressing about, they needed to show his arms - as today's young women find that type of arm very attractive).
Our modern notions of power no longer center around the physical, muscular build of a man (William the Conqueror and Henry VIII seem to have been similar physical types, big and muscular - and ultimately overweight). I'm trying to think of a modern celebrity or actor that even falls into that category - weight has become such a big issue concerning attractiveness, certainly there were people in both William the Conqueror's and Henry VIII's time who thought they were too fat, so it wasn't exactly a non-issue back then, either). But, big muscular guys who get fat are usually former weightlifters or footballers, finding an actor today who has that somatype would be hard - and no one would have wanted to watch!