Set in the fictional present, King Lear sees Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (The Dresser, Nixon, Silence of the Lambs) as the eponymous ruler, presiding over a totalitarian military dictatorship in England. Academy Award and BAFTA Award winner Emma Thompson (The Children Act, The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility) 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. King Lear isadapted and directed by BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre (The Dresser, Notes on a Scandal).
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.
Cast:
Sir Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Tobias Menzies, Andrew Scott, Jim Broadbent, Jm Carter, Florcene Pugh, Karl Johnson, Anthony Calf, Bernardo Santos, John Macmillan, Chukwudi Iwuji, Shawn Dixon
Synopsis:
An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
The film for television 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.
