Billie Piper joins Olivia Colman in new drama Joe Maher – Getty Images
Billie Piper has joined Olivia Colman and Andrew Scott in the cast for Elsinore, and she isn’t alone. Billed as a “powerful” drama, the trio are part of a stacked line-up of British stars for the upcoming biopic.
The film, which is being written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Simon Stone, will see Scott portray Ian Charleson, with the bulk of the action following the Scottish actor as he prepares a role as Hamlet while suffering from HIV.
It has been confirmed that filming on the biopic has now started, with Piper reuniting with Stone following their collaboration on the stage in 2016 with Yerma. It’s currently unclear who the Doctor Who star will be portraying, but we might get more details soon.
Piper isn’t the only new addition to the cast, with Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Joe Locke, Adeel Akhtar, Matthew Beard, David Dawson, Kadiff Kirwan, Dickie Beau and Peter Mullan all set to appear.
In addition to Scott, who also serves as an executive producer on the film, the only other actor to have their character confirmed publicly is Colman, with the actor set to portray Charleson’s doctor.
Joe Maher – Getty Images
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As per the synopsis, Elsinore will tell the “powerful, deeply moving and inspiring true story of the actor Ian Charleson, who faced incredible odds while preparing to give the performance of his life in Hamlet at the National Theatre in London.”
Charleson, who also starred in Chariots of Fire, died of AIDS-related causes at the age of 40 in 1990. The actor requested that his cause of death be disclosed publicly, with his passing being the first of a celebrity to be attributed to AIDS in the UK.
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Stone, who helmed The Dig and The Woman in Cabin 10 after primarily working on the stage, said of the upcoming biopic: “This is one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been involved in.
“Stephen Beresford’s screenplay is both heartbreaking and hilarious, a beautiful ode to the power of community in times of crisis. Andrew Scott is one of the greatest actors of his generation as Ian Charleson was: it’s momentous casting.”
Elsinore doesn’t yet have a release date.
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