Variety is reporting that the young and talented Kodi Smit-McPhee is joining Carlo Carlei’s Romeo and Juliet, although not in the lead role. While Kodi would have made a great Romeo, he will instead play Benvolio, a smaller yet still important role.
Hailee Steinfeld has the lead role of Juliet, Ed Westwick is Tybalt and Holly Hunter is playing Juliet’s nurse. The Romeo role is still open though and with the film going into production this summer, I’m surprised it hasn’t been filled yet. I’m guessing we’ll likely hear something on it very soon though.
Kodi Smit-McPhee is a very talented young actor who recently gave a great performance in Let Me In. Along with co-star Hailee Steinfeld and other young thespians like Chloe Moretz and Elle Fanning, he’s one of the best young actors currently working in Hollywood.
The film recently made headlines due to the fact that it would have young star Hailee Steinfeld partaking in a sex scene with nudity. It caused a bit of uproar and it will be interesting to see how people react to the 14 year old engaging in such a scene once the film finally hits.
Either way, with the way the cast is shaping up, this is looking to be a promising adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic story.
