Judi Dench, My Week With Marilyn

London Evening Standard

Miranda Bryant
31 Oct 2011

It's one of the most anticipated films of the year, telling the story of Marilyn Monroe's visit to London and featuring a strong British cast.

Today a cast member from My Week With Marilyn - a biopic set around the time she filmed The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier - said the performances of the leading actors were "uncanny".

Kenneth Branagh, who plays Olivier, is so good it was as if Olivier had "come back from the dead", according to actor Robert Portal.

The film, shot at Pinewood Studios and due to be released in Britain on November 25, centres on the week Monroe was looked after by Olivier's employee, Colin Clark, played by Eddie Redmayne. Dougray Scott plays Marilyn's husband Arthur Miller and the film also features Emma Watson.

Portal, 44, plays David Orton, one of the assistant directors of the 1957 film. He said: "It was great to film. The set was great and looks just like [The Prince and the Showgirl]." But Portal will not attend the premiere. He is taking part in a 3,000-mile expedition rowing a boat across the Atlantic to raise money for charity Facing The World. To donate, visit justgiving.com/facingtheatlantic