LONDON – A British bookmaker has suspended betting on British actor Tom Hiddleston to be the next James Bond.
Coral says a flurry of bets in recent days made "The Night Manager" star the 2-1 favorite to replace Daniel Craig to be the next 007. But after a particularly large wager, the odds plummeted and betting was suspended.
Coral says Luther star Idris Elba and Homeland actor Damian Lewis had been Bond front-runners in previous months. But Coral spokeswoman Nicola McGeady, says while earlier in the year "there was a gamble" on those two, nothing has "come close to the recent gamble on Hiddleston."
You probably remembered that Damian Lewis first made a name for himself in this excellent 2001 miniseries on HBO, but there are LOADS of other actors who popped up that you may well have forgotten.
Here's a roll call of the biggest names (most of whom are Brits playing Americans) for you to try to spot next time you binge-watch the epic Steven Spielberg-produced war series.
MICHAEL FASSBENDER
Appeared as: Technical Sergeant Burton 'Pat' Christenson
Now best known for: The X-Men movies, 12 Years A Slave, Inglourious Basterds…
Number of episodes: 7
TOM HARDY
Appeared as: Private John Janovec
Now best known for: The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant…
Number of episodes: 2
DAMIAN LEWIS
Appeared as: Lieutenant / Captain / Major Richard Winters
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By ANDREW GOLDMAN
March 5, 2015 3:36 p.m. ET
HAS THERE EVER LIVED a lustier, more murderous cast of characters than the Tudors? The infamy of the English dynasty owes largely to the treacherous 38-year reign of Henry VIII, but an even more compelling character may be his enabler and brain for hire, Thomas Cromwell, the commoner who rose in his court to become a kind of Henry whisperer, an advisor renowned for his ability to read the king’s mind like a book. For 500 years, Cromwell was viewed as a great heavy in the Tudor drama, a character whose lure became irresistible to the British novelist Hilary Mantel. “When I was researching, I started off with a fairly conventional viewpoint: that Cromwell’s a villain but an interesting villain,” Mantel says. “Then I began to discover other things and modified my view very fast.” Cromwell was the consummate fixer—in Mantel’s words, “the man to cut through some legal entanglement that’s ensnared you for three generations, or talk your sniffling little daughter into the marriage she swears she will never make.” Mantel also found him unusually sympathetic: After the deaths of his wife and daughters, he went on to support his large extended family. She devoted eight years and a thousand pages to novelizing the first 51 years of Cromwell’s life with Wolf Hall, released in 2009, and its sequel, Bring Up the Bodies, published three years later.
The books made Mantel a literary star—the first British author to win the Man Booker Prize twice. Naturally, film producers came calling. “There were many suitors, yes,” she says. But her books are serious works of historical fiction. The Tudors—notably in the Showtime series of the same name and the filmed adaptation of The Other Boleyn Girl—had been transformed in the popular imagination as characters scheming and copulating through airbrushed Hollywood bodice rippers (“bonkbusters,” as the genre is known in England). Mantel feared what would become of her Cromwell in the wrong hands, how tempting it might be to drown him in an orgiastic, Game of Thrones–style bloodbath.
One suitor stood out from the rest: Colin Callender, the British-born producer who’d just left HBO after 21 years to start his own production company. As the president of HBO films, Callender had overseen the production of John Adams, a miniseries based on David McCullough’s biography. Mantel loved the seriousness of the project—the fact that it starred Paul Giamatti, not Tom Cruise—and that it made colonial life look as cold and austere as history tells us it was. Callender, she trusted, wouldn’t make the Tudors, in her word, too “cute.”
While devouring Wolf Hall, Callender recognized something novel, but also enticingly familiar, about Cromwell. As he’d seen firsthand at HBO, The Sopranos had irrevocably darkened the public’s taste and tolerance of its television protagonists, opening the doors for the likes of House of Cards’ Frank Underwood, Ray Donovan and, Callender imagined, the centuries-despised Thomas Cromwell. “Audiences are increasingly interested in characters who live on both sides of the moral equation,” Callender says. “I thought, here was the way to reinvigorate the television historical drama for the post–Sopranos, Breaking Bad world.” The rights to Mantel’s book became the first acquisition at Callender’s Playground Entertainment. Now he just needed actors with the gifts to sell Mantel’s portrayal of the insatiable Henry and his deft consigliere, Cromwell.
THERE ARE MANY who swear that Mark Rylance, the man Callender tapped to play Cromwell, is the greatest actor alive, that seeing him embody the small-time drug dealer Johnny “Rooster” Byron in Jerusalem is as close to a religious experience as the theater can offer. At lunch on a Pasadena, California, hotel patio, Rylance blushes, looking at his feet while Damian Lewis, who plays Wolf Hall’s Henry VIII, testifies to his brilliance. “I don’t know who the greatest actor is—it’s kind of a ridiculous notion—but if you haven’t seen Mark onstage, I’m here to tell you he’s extraordinary,” Lewis says. “He’s kind of cornered the market in redefining characters that we think we know.”
As they are both actors who spent their early professional years performing the Bard at the Royal Shakespeare Company, it might be tempting for American audiences to toss Rylance and Lewis into the same classically trained British actor bin. But just eyeballing them sitting next to each other suggests that their social circles rarely intersect. Rylance, who arrived wearing his trademark fedora, comes across as a theater bohemian, with silver Navajo bracelets on each wrist (he’s actively involved in Survival International, a group committed to protecting tribal people around the world) and a short-sleeved patterned bowling shirt; Lewis, the Eton-educated, St. John’s Wood–reared son of London privilege, is chic in a tailored dark blue shirt, designer jeans and a Rolex, and carries himself with a natural masculine confidence. Given that Rylance has spent his life projecting his voice onstage—he’s won three Tonys and two Oliviers—it’s surprising that he speaks so softly one has to lean in to hear him, even sitting a few feet away. (As a child, Rylance suffered from an intense shyness that kept him from speaking a word until he was 6.)
Through Wolf Hall, Rylance has taken on the job that Mantel began—redefining Cromwell, saving him even, almost 500 years after he was beheaded on trumped-up charges of treason. Rylance, best described as sprightly, might not be the first actor who comes to mind to play Cromwell; in Wolf Hall he’s a physically imposing brute who had likely killed a man or two in close combat during his mysterious younger days and was depicted in the enduring Hans Holbein likeness as a bruiser, fleshy and austere under his black bonnet. “I’m aware I’m not so big as Cromwell is physically, but I can take on psychological weight,” Rylance says. Playing bigger isn’t a problem for an actor of Rylance’s gifts; in fact, just the day before, he’d been sitting with Steven Spielberg, discussing how he will play the titular big friendly giant in The BFG, the director’s upcoming adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book. He’s thought deeply about the mechanics of the Cromwell-Henry relationship and came upon an unexpected insight when he encountered a man who keeps grizzly bears in Montana. “He said to me, the thing with bears is they are incredibly emotional, they’re made of emotions,” Rylance says. “You have to be very clear and very loving towards this bear, which is emotionally like a 15- or 16-year-old autistic child. I compare Damian’s Henry to that.”
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
by Abid Rahman2/10/2015 12:18am PST
James McAvoy has waded into the ongoing debate in the U.K. on the current success and dominance of privately educated actors, telling the Herald of Scotland that if the current trend continues it would be "damaging for society."
The Scottish actor, who paid his way through drama school by working in a bakery, was at pains not to criticize the success of privately educated actors, but he was worried that it wasn't representative of Britain as it is today.
"Whenever we talk about this, we have to be very very clear. There's a lot of posh actors that have been to boarding school and all that who are feeling very embattled, sort of cornered," he said, adding: "[N]obody has got anything against an actor who is posh and is doing really well."
But McAvoy was concerned that people from all walks of life are not getting the same opportunities to work in the arts, and his chief worry was about how this will become a bigger problem five or ten years from now.
If the trends are allowed to continue, McAvoy said, "That's a frightening world to live in, because as soon as you get one tiny pocket of society creating all the arts, or culture starts to become representative not of everybody but of one tiny part, and that's not fair to begin with, but it's also damaging for society."
Private schools such as Eton and Harrow are some of the oldest and most elite in the U.K. They often produce future leaders and captains of industry, but in recent years they have begun to churn out stellar acting talent.
The Eton-educated Eddie Redmayne (a classmate of Prince William) and Harrow-educated Benedict Cumberbatch, who are both in the running for the best actor Oscar, are perhaps the most telling examples of the dominance of "posh" actors. But there's also Dominic West (Eton, classmate of Prime Minister David Cameron), Damian Lewis (Eton), Tom Hiddleston (Eton), Henry Cavil (Stowe), Jamie Campbell Bower (Bedales), Tom Hardy (Reed), Matthew Goode (Exeter) and Dan Stevens (Tonbridge), among others.
And it's not just the guys. A whole generation of British actresses are seemingly disproportionately from so-called posh schools, including Rosamund Pike (Badminton), Alice Eve (Bedales), Juno Temple (Bedales), Carey Mulligan (Woldingham), Kate Beckinsale (Godolphin and Latymer), Imogen Poots (Latymer), Emilia Clarke (St Edward's), Emily Blunt (Hurtwood House) and Rebecca Hall (Roedean).
We hung out with some very dishy Brits in black tie last night - including Tom Hiddleston, Kit Harrington, Freddie Fox and Henry Cavill - at the very first BAFTA Gala Dinner, in aid of BAFTA's Give Something Back campaign. Freddie Fox arrived arm-in-arm with big sister Emilia, who was wearing a floor-length scarlet Temperley London dress, while a very dapper-looking Tom Hiddleston swept in and caught up with friend Edith Bowman. We also spotted Game Of Thrones stars Kit Harrington and Natalie Dormer, who was looking gorgeous in a black ballgown.
The list of prizes included a photo shoot with top photographer Greg Williams (who had come to the event with his new girlfriend, designer Alice Temperley), a private preview screening for 60 people of the new Bond film Spectre and dinner with Colin Firth and Damien Lewis (this one went for £12 000 - sadly a little out of our budget). Also up for grabs was a private tour of Downton Abbey and a week-long retreat at a villa in Palm Springs. Tom Hiddleston gamely kicked off the action by bidding £2000 for a portrait from Greg Williams, but lost out in the end to a higher offer. By the end of the night £250 000 had been raised. That's a lot of very generous bidding.
Orlando Sentinel
By Hal Boedeker
Staff writer
January 19, 2015
Good news for "Doc Martin" fans.
Martin Clunes, star of that series, will play Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in "Arthur & George," a series from PBS' "Masterpiece" later this year.
"Masterpiece" announced new offerings Monday at the Television Critics Association meeting in Pasadena, Calif.
"How perfect that 'Arthur & George' will air on PBS, as public television has been such a wonderful home to 'Doc Martin,' " Clunes said in a statement. "I'm sure that our new series will be a treat for 'Doc Martin' fans, and for everyone who enjoys a terrific drama."
The three-part "Arthur & George" is based on Julian Barnes' novel about a half-Indian son of a vicar. Doyle investigates whether the vicar's son has been framed for a crime.
A modern-version of Sherlock Holmes with Benedict Cumberbatch has been a major hit for "Masterpiece."
"Masterpiece" also will present "Home Fires" about women living in a rural British village during World War II while the men are away fighting. The cast includes Samantha Bond, who plays Lady Rosamund Painswick on "Downton Abbey," and Francesca Annis of "Reckless."
"Masterpiece" executive producer Rebecca Eaton was taking a well-deserved victory lap as the show flourishes.
"For 'Masterpiece' to be the No. 1 show on PBS in its 44th year is historic,” she said in a statement. "We are proud of the work of our British partners and grateful to all of our American supporters."
"Masterpiece" scored a 3.6 national household rating (live+7) in 2014. That rating is up 80 percent from 2010 -- an astonishing figure as the TV universe fragments.
"Masterpiece," which is presented by WGBH Boston, has expanded to offer "Grantchester" at 10 p.m. Sundays after "Downton Abbey." That entertaining mystery with James Norton and Robson Green started this week.
And "Masterpiece" has potentially one of the year's biggest shows: "Wolf Hall," an adaptation of Hilary Mantel's novels, on April 5. Emmy-winner Damian Lewis ("Homefront") plays King Henry VIII, and Tony-winner Mark Rylance is Thomas Cromwell.
PBS had other drama plans, not related to "Masterpiece." Public television plans a six-episode drama about Civil War nurses. The show will film in Virginia air on Sundays starting in winter 2016.
SUNDAY EXPRESS
Published: 00:01, Sun, January 11, 2015
By DAVID STEPHENSON
We love our period drama. A glimpse of the schedules, particularly during autumn and winter, reveals a surfeit of costume delights, from Downton Abbey to Call The Midwife, from The Musketeers to Channel 4’s soon-to-be-seen Indian Summers.
However, the quality can vary wildly and so can the attention to detail, with the viewers often wondering, given the modern language used in dialogue, whether they are actually watching a drama set, for instance, two centuries ago.
Worry ye not, viewer, about the quality on offer later this month in BBC2’s Wolf Hall. Adapted from the best-selling historical novels of Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, this six-part series about the political chicanery of the Tudor court raises the bar for its costume rivals.
It has one of the performances of the year from Mark Rylance, in the lead role of Thomas Cromwell. He is ably assisted by Damian Lewis, pictured, as Henry VIII, and Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey. Not a regular TV face, Rylance is known for his striking performances in the theatre, and is a two-time Olivier Awards winner.
As the author Mantel herself points out, “Mark Rylance gives a mesmeric performance as Cromwell, its effect building through the series.”As lawyer to Wolsey, Mantel describes him as both “hero, and anti-hero”, which indeed he is, although by the close of episode one you will be rooting for Rylance’s Cromwell all the way.
Unlike many authors, who are often indifferent about TV adaptations, Mantel is inspired. She says: “It’s a privilege. It’s illuminating, exciting. It’s not, as people sometimes think, in any way odd or jarring. It seems to continue a natural process that goes on in the writer’s head. “As you write, you see and hear. To have the images transferred to the outside world, to hear the voices externally, is a kind of magic, but it’s also a logical step.”
The choice of director is inspired, too. To enhance the political intrigue of a Tudor royal household, Peter Kosminsky, whose work mostly includes factual dramas, has given the production an authentic, contemporary feel.
But where do you begin with two 500-page novels? “I guess it starts with Peter Straughan’s script,” says the director. “Many people have done incredible work on this show.
Many on it acknowledge that these are some of the best scripts they have ever read. They are the best I’ve read. I knew the books, but to turn that into six hours of TV is an extraordinary feat.”
The stories are about “revenge”, says Straughan. “It’s also there in the novels, but that’s the theme I decided to run with. Thomas sets out for revenge for the fall of Wolsey, and the drama is about the consequences that flow from that.”
Rylance hasn’t done a major TV lead since 2005’s excellent The Government Inspector, about tragic whistleblower Dr David Kelly, which was also directed by Kosminsky. Why return to TV? Rylance is breathtakingly honest. “My wife said the books were very good! And I liked working with Peter, and it was obviously a wonderful part.”
But what was it specifically about the role that drew him to it? “There can be few characters in literature that keep most of their judgments and thoughts to themselves. He doesn’t reveal it, or show very much. I expect a lot of people who have read the books will watch the show, so to manifest him in a way that wouldn’t limit their imaginations of what he was like, was quite a challenge. I also wanted him to be a real person.”
Stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Sienna Miller and Damian Lewis have joined forces to film themselves performing difficult tongue-twisters in support of a 12-year-old girl whose skin blisters at the slightest touch.
Sohana Collins from London suffers from an incredibly rare genetic disorder called epidermolysis bullosa (EB). If Sohana’s skin is touched, even lightly, it reacts as if she’s been burned.
Her hands are so fragile she has to wear gloves, and all her food must be liquidised as her mouth and oesophagus are also prone to blistering.
Her mum, Sharmila Nikapota, 45, contacted Homeland actor Damien Lewis and, after learning about Sohana, he agreed to become patron of a charity in her name - The Sohana Research Fund.
As the name of her condition is quite the tongue-twister in itself, Damien had the idea to film himself stumbling over another awkward tongue-twister before nominating Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch to do the same.
In turn, Benedict nominated actress and model Sienna Miller, and since then BBC presenter Mishal Husain, Damien Lewis’ wife actress Helen McCrory and Emma Watson have also thrown their weight behind the campaign.
Sharmila hopes the campaign will be as big as the ice bucket challenge, which dominated social media timelines last summer and raised over $98 million for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association.
“When Sohana was born in 2002, there was very little prospect of an effective treatment let alone cure, but breakthroughs in research underpin the significant hope that this is no longer the case,” she said.
“It is critical that funding is achieved for key projects that will harness this research optimism."
LONDON EVENING STANDARD
LOUISE JURY, CHIEF ARTS CORRESPONDENT
28 November, 2014
Stars including Dame Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch, Carey Mulligan and Eddie Redmayne will hand out the honours at the 60th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
It will be a night to remember as Sienna Miller, Sir Ian McKellen, American actress Anna Kendrick and Damian Lewis — the host of the 2013 ceremony — also turn out at the London Palladium on Sunday to honour fellow professionals.
Dame Helen, who was named best actress last year, will anoint this year’s best actor from among Tom Hiddleston, Ben Miles and Mark Strong.
And Idris Elba will present the Natasha Richardson Award for best actress from a line-up of five: Gillian Anderson, Helen McCrory, Tanya Moodie, Billie Piper and Kristin Scott Thomas.
The NOOK Award for best play will be presented by James McAvoy, who returns to the stage in January in The Ruling Class. And Cumberbatch, who jointly won best actor in Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein, will warm up for his stage return as Hamlet by revealing the recipient of an award given in the name of the Evening Standard’s owner, Evgeny Lebedev.
THIS IS SOMERSET By Steve Grant November 4, 2013
It's an act of deduction worthy of Hercule Poirot himself, but actor David Suchet believes he spotted the talents of some of Britain's most successful actors long before they became stars in their own right.
Suchet, who was educated at Wellington School, Somerset, told the Radio Times he had accurately predicted which of the drama's bit-part players would go on to become household names.
Among the 1,124 actors who appeared in the 13 series of Agatha Christie's Poirot were Joely Richardson, Damian Lewis and Michael Fassbender – all before they were well known.
"This is quite true," Suchet told Radio Times of his talent-spotting skills. "As regards everybody who has now become a big name – I have said at the time, 'Watch out for that one'. I've sensed it."
He said he and the production team did not want the programme to be a "Spotlight gallery" – a reference to the actors' directory used by casting agents. However, the requirement for fresh faces to adopt looks of consternation when accused of a crime created a huge demand for new talent.
The cast included two men who went on to play the lead role in Doctor Who. Peter Capaldi, who makes his first appearance as the Doctor at Christmas, turned up in Wasps' Nest in 1991, 14 years before he became a household name as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It. Christopher Eccleston was a fascist thug in One, Two, Buckle My Shoe in 1992.
Richardson had one of her first television roles in Poirot in 1989 when she was 24. Four years later she starred in the BBC adaptation of Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Lewis was a recent graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama when he played a young resident at a hostel beset by thievery in Hickory Dickory Dock in 1995. By 2001 he had taken the lead role in Band of Brothers and is currently playing the compromised war hero at the centre of Homeland.
Emily Blunt, meanwhile, fared considerably better than her character in Death on the Nile in 2004. Linnet Ridgeway, an American heiress, was found with a bullet hole in her head. Blunt herself went on to take leading roles in My Summer of Love and The Devil Wears Prada.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. -- “Homeland” is gearing up to return to Showtime for its third season this September and Executive Producer Howard Gordon hinted at the drama ahead.
“The focus this season really is the aftershocks of last year,” Howard told AccessHollywood.com at TNT’s 25th anniversary bash following Wednesday’s portion of the Television Critics Association Summer Tour in Beverly Hills.
Gordon said nothing is set yet, so they are keeping those writers’ room ideas under wraps. He was happy, however, to open up about his new show coming to TNT – “Legends,” starring former “Game of Thrones” star Sean Bean.
“He’s electric,” Gordon said of casting Bean as his leading man, Martin Odum, an agent working for the Deep Cover Operations division of the FBI.
“I had been a fan of his for so many years,” Gordon said. “The thing about Sean is he is extraordinary and charismatic and he’s a movie star, but he’s an actor and this part is about being an actor.”
And Gordon praised Bean’s performance in Season 1 of “Thrones.”
“It was transcendent and he has that kind of dignity and that kind of grace and the pathos that I think audiences have connected with and I hope this is a part and a role that really reengages the audiences with him,” Gordon said.
Period drama Downton Abbey is leading the way for the Brits as this year's Emmy Awards, with 12 nominations.
The ITV series, which runs on PBS in the US, has received major nominations, including acting nods for stars Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Dame Maggie Smith and Jim Carter.
Hugh is up for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for his performance as Earl of Grantham, while his on-screen daughter Michelle is up for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series as Lady Mary Crawley.
Creator Julian Fellowes has received a nod for Outstanding Writing In A Drama Series, while the show is also up for Directing and Best Drama Series.
Last year's Best Actor In A Drama Series Damian Lewis is up in the category again for the second year.
The Oscar winner has already won four Emmys already for Prime suspect, Elizabeth I and The Passion of Ayn Rand, her last win being in 1996.
Brits Toby Jones and Benedict Cumberbatch will go head-to-head in the Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie for The Girl and Parade's End respectively.
Toby's The Girl co-star Imelda Staunton, who played Alfred Hitchcock's wife Alma is nominated for Supporting Actress in a Miniseries Or A Movie, although Sienna Miller missed out on a nod for her performance as Tippi Hedren.
British actor Tom Hiddleston arrives at the screening of the film "Only Lovers Left Alive" on May 25, 2013 at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)
A company named AudioGO – “The home of BBC Audiobooks” has announced that British actor Tom Hiddleston will record audiobooks of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels Octopussy and The Living Daylights. This makes lots of sense, because his fans absolutely love to hear him talk. The recordings will be available in September, as CDs or as Internet downloads.
AudioGO has lots of experience with this sort of thing; it has already recorded The Man with the Golden Gun, read by Kenneth Branagh, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, read by David Tennant (of Doctor Who fame), Moonraker, read by Bill Nighy, Diamonds are Forever, read by Damian Lewis (of U.S. TV show Homeland), Live and Let Die, read by Rory Kinnear, The Spy Who Loved Me, read by Rosamund Pike, along with several other selections.
(Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
News of this project created much excitement among Hiddleston’s fans, since many of them would like to see him play 007 in a film one day, and the audiobook could serve as an audition of sorts. Can you imagine the disappointment, bewilderment and grumbling when they (we) learned that these audiobooks won’t be available in the U.S. or Canada?
AudioGo’s UK Facebook page says it does not have the rights to sell the audio books in the U.S. or Canada.
(Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) . . .with Kenneth Branagh, left, in the film Thor and the TV series Wallander. . .(that’s Jaimie Alexander in the centre).
A quick Internet search found a Los Angeles Times article from 2012 that says that Amazon.com had announced its purchase of the North American rights to Ian Fleming’s James Bond books.
Stars of Homeland and Parade's End head the British nominations for major television awards across the Pond.
By JENNY MANNING
Published: 23rd May 2013
DAMIAN Lewis and Benedict Cumberbatch are among a host of stars flying the flag for Britain at the 2013 American Critics’ Choice Television Awards.
The two actors have been honoured with nominations for their performances in Homeland and BBC mini-series Parade’s End respectively.
Lewis, whose Homeland co-star Claire Danes is also nominated, faces competition for best actor from fellow Brits Andrew Lincoln and Matthew Rhys, together with Kevin Spacey, Bryan Cranston and Timothy Olyphant.
Cumberbatch will battle it out against Behind The Candelabra stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, as well as Toby Jones, Al Pacino and Dominic West, in the best actor in a movie or mini-series field.
While Brit actresses Sienna Miller and Imelda Staunton have received nods for their portrayals of Tippi Hedren and Alfred Hitchcock’s wife Alma Reville in the BBC and HBO TV drama The Girl.
UPROOTING from the UK to the US doesn’t just mean shifting a few boxes if you’re a celeb.
Dan Stevens
Downton Abbey actor DAN STEVENS is the latest Brit actor to have had a La La Land makeover – in a bid to make sure the quest for worldwide fame doesn’t turn ugly.
It's he hottest new musical in the West End after already wowing audiences Stateside.
So it was no surprise to see a host of Britain's biggest names turning out to the opening night of the London production of The Book Of Mormon.
And showing that it's a play fit for a Lady, Downton Abbey stars Elizabeth McGovern and Laura Carmichael joined the the show's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone at the Prince Of Wales Theatre.
The actresses, who play mother and daughter Cora Crawley the Countess of Grantham and Lady Edith Crawley looked a far cry from their onscreen characters.
Elizabeth, 51, looked great in a navy peplum dress, over which she wore a bright blue quilted coat.
The pretty actress added a splash of colour with bright red lipstick, as she happily posed for the cameras.
Laura, who plays her somewhat dowdy daughter, cut a very stylish figure in a chic beige trench coat, underneath which she wore an all black outfit with black heels.
Also from the ITV period drama was the women's co-star Brendan Coyle, who plays Bates, attended with his girlfriend Joy Harrison.
Homeland star Damian Lewis was wrapped up for the cold weather with his actress wife Helen McCrory.
We’re happy to debut the first poster for the upcoming action thriller The Sweeney today. Directed by Nick Love (Outlaw) and co-written by John Hodge (Trainspotting), the film stars Ray Winstone as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Ben Drew as his partner George Carter. The two are “old school crime fighters” who enforce the law in a modern underworld, and with a bank heist in progress and Regan’s old enemy making an appearance on the streets of London, the veteran cop will do whatever it takes to get the job done. The pic also stars Homeland’s Damian Lewis and Captain America’s Hayley Atwell. The Sweeney will be available in theaters and VOD on March 1st.
THIS IS SOMERSET
