British actress Holliday Grainger is on the verge of joining Roger Michell’s adaptation, My Cousin Rachel.
Deadline has the scoop, revealing that Grainger (Cinderella, The Finest Hours) is circling a key role opposite Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin, after the pair boarded the project back in September. Adapted for the screen by Michell himself, My Cousin Rachel has been pitched as a slight reworking of Daphne du Maurier’s classic thriller novel.
Philip remains at the core of the dark romance, who spends his days content by sharing a roof with his cousin and guardian, Ambrose. Things take a turn for the sinister though when Rachel (Weisz) becomes the key suspect when Ambrose is found murdered, though Philip’s original plan for revenge soon begins to melt away under the seductive spell of the title character.
Fox Searchlight is producing the family thriller, placing Claflin in the shoes of the conflicted Philip. No details were shared for Grainger’s role in the thriller.
First adapted for the screen in 1952 – the year after the release of du Maurier’s novel – My Cousin Rachel once starred screen icons Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton in the central roles. More than 60 years later, Fox Searchlight is gearing up for a modern retelling, and the casting of Holliday Grainger will stand as another major coup for the British up-and-comer.
Before dabbling with familial matters, Grainger can be seen in The Finest Hours and Justin Chadwick’s period drama Tulip Fever, though the latter is still to lock down a release date.
