Across his long and illustrious career, Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins has portrayed a great many colorful real-life characters, from US President Richard Nixon to horror legend Alfred Hitchcock. Now, he’s set to play another figure from history, in the second of two biopics currently in his pipeline. After playing Ernest Hemingway in Andy Garcia’s Hemingway and Fuentes, Hopkins will portray Dutch brewery magnate Freddy Heineken for director Daniel Alfredson (The Girl Who Played With Fire), in Informant Media’s true-history action thriller Kidnapping Freddy Heineken.
Though most people are familiar with the Heineken brand, very few are aware of the ordeal faced by the late businessman in 1983 when he, along with his driver Ab Doderer, were abducted at gunpoint by five amateur Dutch gangsters. A huge ransom of $35 million Dutch guilders ($16 million euros) was eventually paid for the hostages by Heineken’s family. The kidnappers were eventually captured, and all served prison sentences.
Kidnapping Freddy Heineken will bring the hostage stand-off to the big screen with a script by William Brookfield, based on the book of the same name by journalist Peter R. de Vries. Alfredson’s two previous efforts, the second and third adaptations of Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millenium trilogy, were also tense and action-packed thrillers, and with Hopkins’ involvement, all signs indicate that this film will be one to watch.
Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Sam Worthington (Avatar) and Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) have all been confirmed to play kidnappers in the film, and both Danish actor Mark van Eeuwen and Aussie newcomer Thomas Cocquerel will have roles.
Filming on Kidnapping Freddy Heineken will begin in Belgium this month, before moving on to Amsterdam and New Orleans.
Are you excited to see Hopkins in this juicy role? Out of the three main kidnappers, which young actor are you most excited to see face off against the celebrated Oscar winner? Let us know in the comments section!
Kidnapping Freddy Heineken will hit theaters sometime in 2014.
