Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins board the BBC’s King Lear
Anthony Hopkins (The Dresser, Nixon, Silence Of The Lambs) and Emma Thompson (The Children Act, The Remains Of The Day, Sense And Sensibility) reunite in their third collaboration and lead an all-star cast for BBC Two‘s upcoming production of Shakespeare’s King Lear, adapted and directed by BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre (The Dresser, Notes on a Scandal). Principal photography begins this month.
King Lear is commissioned by the BBC and will premiere on BBC Two in the UK in 2018. Amazon Studios is co-producing and taking US and German rights. Amazon Prime Video will also air the drama in the UK, following the BBC’s run.
Set in the fictional present, King Lear sees Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins as the eponymous ruler, presiding over a totalitarian military dictatorship in England. Academy Award and BAFTA Award winner Emma Thompson stars as his oldest daughter Goneril. Academy Award nominee and BAFTA Award winner Emily Watson (Theory Of Everything, Genius) stars as his middle daughter Regan, and rising star Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, Marcella) as Cordelia, the youngest of Lear’s children. Academy Award and BAFTA Award winner Jim Broadbent (Iris, Game of Thrones) takes the role of the Earl of Gloucester, BAFTA Award winner Andrew Scott (Sherlock, The Hollow Crown) as his loyal son Edgar and John Macmillan (Hanna, Chewing Gum) as his illegitimate son Edmund.
Emmy Award nominated Jim Carter (Downton Abbey, Cranford) takes the role of the Earl of Kent, Emmy Award winner Christopher Eccleston (The Leftovers, Thor: The Dark World) as Oswald, and Golden Globe nominee Tobias Menzies (Outlander, The Terror) plays the Duke of Cornwall. Anthony Calf (New Tricks, Riviera) plays the Duke of Albany and Karl Johnson (Wittgenstein, Rome) is set to play Lear’s loyal jester the Fool.
Colin Callender and Sonia Friedman, Executive Producers, said of the actors in King Lear: “It is a tribute to the great Richard Eyre that we have brought together such a remarkable cast. The film is a testament to the BBC’s on-going commitment to the single drama, and we are very appreciative of their continued support.”
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
