Role Call: Rags to Reunions

We have a lot to cover in this week’s Casting News, including a first look at what a good Lucius Malfoy might have looked like, the secrets the Dowager Countess may be hiding, the Harry Potter reunion you weren’t expecting, Stan Shunpike gets animated, and more details (finally!) on the new Cinderella!

Jim Broadbent will be seen next year on BBC One’s The Go-Between as an older Leo alongside Vanessa Redgrave. This marks an interesting time for Broadbent who spoke about his first role, uncredited, on the first adaptation of The Go-Between as an extra:

Having been an extra in the first adaptation of The Go-Between in 1971 I was thrilled to be asked to be in this new version. It is a tremendous novel and Adrian Hodges’ script captures it perfectly.

Very soon you will also see Broadbent in David Heyman‘s Paddington, but new HP cast have been added to the roster as well! Imelda Staunton and Sir Michael Gambon have just signed on to voice Paddington’s Aunt Lucy and Uncle Pastuzo.

Michael is also set to star in the second installment of The Hollow Crown, as reported last week, and just revealed is where they will be filming portions of the production. UK residents in Wells should keep their eyes peeled as filming begins October 19 at Cathedral Green and Vicars Close. If you happen to snap pics from the set, send them to us here and they could be featured in future Casting News segments!

Imelda Staunton is ready for her role as Mama Rose in Gypsy, and now we get our first look at the character on stage. Last week, we brought you photos from the rehearsal of the production, and during preview week, more photos were released courtesy of photographer Roy Tan and Broadway World. Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the lyrics to the original 1959 musical also saw Imelda on stage, commenting that he had always wanted her to play the role:

It is one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen on the stage. When she sings, ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses,’ you’ve never heard it before. With any luck, it will come to London next year.

Take a look at the photos below!

Spoiler alert for Downton fans! We finally have a bit of dirt on the secret Violet has been hiding since we last talked about the new season of the Brit series. First, we’ll take a look at a clip from the third episode of season 5, bringing us more Dowager insults we’ll come to love:

From the episode that aired this week, secrets are revealed as we learn that while the Dowager Countess may act prim and proper, but she might have a bit of a colored past. Make sure to tune in (at least in the UK where it’s currently airing) and see what antics Violet and Isobel will get up to when they hit the town with a mysterious Russian!

In other Maggie news, we have some photos from her film The Lady In The Van, including nearly the entire cast of The History Boys reuniting for Maggie’s film – this includes Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime) who will portray Ursula Vaughn Williams. Jim Broadbent also features in the film, as a local police officer described as ‘sinister’. You can see photos from the set as well as Maggie’s original role as Miss Shepard on stage here:

Speaking of Downton, Lily Allen (Lady Rose, a Grantham cousin) gave a lengthy interview where she not only talks Downton, but mentions a bit about the very hush-hush plot and details surrounding the Sir Kenneth Branagh live-action film, Cinderella! With the success of Maleficient, we hope that Cinderella will be as visually stunning and pull at the heartstrings a bit with it’s new take on this classic tale. Allen has taken on the role as the titular character and speaks about the costumes for the film, wrapping production, and working with Downton co-star, Sophie McShera (Daisy), as one of the evil step-sisters.

There’s so much more freedom and I like being in rags rather than ballgowns…I adore the costumes, but it would be nice to wear something a bit more modern. In Cinderella I was wearing a corset so tight I could barely eat while in Downton I have to wear a bra that flattens my chest and really hurts. I’m dying to get back to the theatre and do something modern.

Kenneth Branagh is also set to begin filming the new season of the Wallander series in Cape Town, reprising his role as Inspector Kurt Wallander. The second and third installments of the season will be filmed in Swedan and Denmark. Kenneth talks about what issues Wallander will address in the coming season:

I always approach each series of Wallander with anticipation and excitement, but this last series of films contain some of the greatest challenges the character has ever faced.

Last week, we revealed that Ralph Fiennes will be taking the stage in Man and Superman, and this week we have a bit more information on the production. Fiennes will play Jack Tanner, “a celebrated radical thinker and rich bachelor”, and in addition to the performances scheduled for this February, the play will broadcast live as part of NT Live in May! Tickets for Man and Superman go on sale October 23 here.

Information about the new Star Wars movie is slowly creeping out but we do know that Harry Potter composer John Williams is rumored to begin scoring the film sometime in the next two weeks. According to a fan who attended a concert, Williams confirmed this and the video of the concert was posted on Youtube, however, the video has since been taken down. StarWars.com also posted information about a year ago confirming his return to the franchise and that he had yet to read the new information about Episode VII.

The live-action Tarzan, directed by David Yates and also starring John Hurt, now has a release date! Revealed last week, the film is slated to open July 1, 2016. Also released was a brief description of the plot:

Tarzan is invited back to the Congo as a trade emissary of Parliament but this turns out to be a trap designed by Captain Rom.

Guy Henry, the actor who played Pius Thicknesse in the last two HP films, is set to present the Dorset Business Awards this November near his hometown of Highcliffe. He speaks to Bournemouth Echo on hosting the awards and the instability than can come along with being an actor:

Thanks to being in Harry Potter and Holby City, that was the first time in my life at the age of 50 I was able to buy a new car. It’s very rewarding and very artistic to go prancing around in wigs at the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre but you don’t get a lot of money for it, In subsidised theatre you get just about a living wage but you certainly don’t make a fortune and there are very few jobs in theatre and film and television bring in such a regular wage.

Calling all fans of Jason Isaacs! DIG has not only resumed filming in New Mexico as reported a few weeks ago, but the premiere air date has been announced and a trailer for the series can be seen below! The series is set to air on USA Network on March 5, 2015 and has been given the greenlight to add four more episodes to the season! Hopefully, you’re also following Jason on Instagram and Twitter, as the actor has been posting pics from the set, both in Jerusalem prior to the set move and after they began filming in New Mexico last month, as well as having conversations with his on-screen son, Tom Felton. Take a look at Jason in the trailer below, adopting an American accent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVURwnFj3hE

Jason also often tweets about his upcoming projects, including the trailer for Things People Do, which you can view here – but be warned, there IS adult content including language and sexual situations.

Actor and writer Lee Ingleby (Stan Shunpike) is bringing his voice to a beloved animated children’s character! Bob the Builder is getting an all new look and will be voiced by Lee, who tells ITV how excited he is to take part in the reviving of the series for a new generation:

I was very excited to be given the opportunity to be the voice of such a well-loved character. My little nephew is such a huge fan of Bob that I had to jump at the chance. Capturing a child’s imagination is so important, and I just wish I was half as good at DIY as Bob is.

Finally, the DA has reunited! Well, not the REAL DA, but a new army is getting ready to film. Dad’s Army, a film remake of a British television series, has just announced the full cast. We previously brought news of the involvement of Bill Nighy and Toby Jones, but new cast has been added, including the very talented and seemingly always up for one more role on his plate, Sir Michael Gambon. We knew Gambon was involved, but now his character name has been revealed: he will play Private Charles Godfrey, “a mild-mannered medical orderly”. Filming will begin this month in Yorkshire, worldwide rights to the film have also been acquired by Universal Pictures International, and a synopsis of the film has been released:

It is 1944 and World War II is reaching its climax. The Allies are poised to invade France and finally defeat the German army. But in Walmington-on-Sea morale amongst the Home Guard is low. Their new mission then – to patrol the Dover army base – is a great chance to revive spirits and reputation, that is until glamorous journalist Rose Winters arrives to write about their exploits, setting the pulses racing and putting the local women on red alert. MI5 then discover a radio signal sent direct to Berlin from Walmington-on-Sea. There’s a spy on the loose! The outcome of the war is suddenly at stake, and it falls to our unlikely heroes to stand up and be counted.

That’s it for this edition of Role Call – what did you think about the new information revealed for the upcoming projects? We love hearing learning all of the behind-the-scenes information and details about the characters our cast have been taking on lately. With all of the new details, which project will you be queuing up to see? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, or Tweet us! We want to know what you think!