These days, in entertainment, English actors are often the first ones who get the chance to play characters from elsewhere. Benedict Cumberbatch is the American Dr. Stephen Strange, and, now, Jason Isaacs will be bringing acting legend Cary Grant back to life.
Per Deadline, the Harry Potter franchise veteran will be telling Grant’s story in a four-part production from ITV and BritBox International. The work comes from Philomena’s Jeff Pope, and it will be titled Archie after Grant’s birth name of Archibald Alexander Leach. Grant was born in the U.K. before he moved to the United States as a teenager, and Isaacs says he is not so much stepping into his shoes as trying to showcase someone unknown.
“There was only one Cary Grant and I’d never be foolish enough to try to step into his iconic shoes. Archie Leach, on the other hand, couldn’t be further from the character he invented to save himself.”
The show will follow his journey while intercutting scenes from 1961. At this time, he was desperately unhappy in life and ultimately set out to romance a TV star who was 30 years younger than him. Grant retired from acting in film in 1966 and died in 1986. In his active years, he appeared in 70 projects and was twice nominated for Academy Awards. Pope says the work — which has the blessing of Grant’s family — will work to understand him, and so much of who he is comes from his young experiences.
“Cary Grant became one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century, beloved by presidents and paupers. The key to everything, lay in his childhood.”
Archie does not have a release date as of this story being filed.
Published: Aug 8, 2022 09:34 am