Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald has clinched a role in Goodbye Christopher Robin, the biopic that’ll recount the heartfelt story of celebrated author A. A. Milne, who served in WWI before going on to create Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and a handful of other childhood mascots.
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop, confirming that Macdonald – best known for roles in No Country for Old Men and, soon, Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming South Korean flick Okja – joins a cast that already boasts Margot Robbie and Domhnall Gleeson as Milne himself.
Meanwhile, Simon Curtis (Woman in Gold, My Week With Marilyn) will call the shots from behind the lens, chronicling Milne’s trying relationship with his son, Christopher Robin. Despite testing times, Christopher’s cavalry of childhood toys would go on to inspire the magical characters featured in Winnie the Pooh. Robbie will play the part of Milne’s wife, Dorothy de Sélincourt, while Macdonald boards the feature as Olive, nanny to Christopher.
Fox Searchlight holds distribution rights to Goodbye Christopher Robin which, with its starry ensemble now in tow, could go on to become a dark horse going into the awards race. Frank Cottrell Boyce and Simon Vaughan penned the script, while Damian Jones and Steve Christian are attached to produce on behalf of Fox.
Goodbye Christopher Robin is currently without a release date. As for Joon-ho Bong’s aforementioned Okja, it’s penciled in for a release at some point in 2017.
