Thanks to Hugh Jackman’s Instagram feed we now have our first look at the actor and his co-star Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as the eponymous Olympic skier in biopic Eddie the Eagle, which just began shooting for producer Matthew Vaughn’s Marv Films.
The real-life Edwards became a national hero by becoming the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. He was a particular dark horse to achieve this placement, since he had no funding and his farsightedness forced him to wear glasses under his goggles, making him virtually blind during the jumps. The press nicknamed Edwards “Mr. Magoo,” and even though he placed last in the 70m and 90m ski-jumping events, he was hailed as a heroic failure.
Jackman plays Chuck Berghorn, a ski expert who helped Edwards train for the games, while the production is also courting Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) to play Edwards’ father. Vaughn’s frequent in-front-of-the-camera collaborator (Kick-Ass, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels) turned-director (Sunshine on Leith) Dexter Fletcher is helming the film.
(Photo Credit: WENN)
