Gillian Anderson and Rufus Sewell.Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage; JC Olivera/WireImage
Netflix’s movie onPrince Andrew’sbombshell 2019 interview with the BBCabout his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein has announced their cast.
Gillian Anderson, who won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for playing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher inThe Crown, will play Maitlis, the BBC host who conducted the interview.
“Very excited to get started!” the actresstweetedfollowing the casting announcement.
In the part of Prince Andrew will be Rufus Sewell, known for his roles inThe Illusionist, A Knight’s TaleandThe Man in the High Castle.
Keeley Hawes will portray Amanda Thirsk, Prince Andrew’s private secretary at the time, while Billie Piper will play Sam McAlister, the producer who negotiated Andrew’s booking and wrote the memoirScoops: Behind the Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews, on which the upcoming film is based.
The film will follow “how the BBC’sNewsnightteam got the scoop, then the actual filming of it,” Moffat previously toldDeadline. “The other thing is, ‘Why did he agree to do it?’ "
“How was it that he decided it was a good idea to do a great big long interview with Emily Maitlis on the BBC?” Moffat continued.
Prince Andrew’s BBC interview.BBC/Mark Harrison
Scoopwill give viewers “the inside track on the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of the queen’s ‘favorite son,'” according to the film’slogline. That includes everything from “navigating Palace vetoes, to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high-stakes negotiations and intensity of rehearsal — to the jaw-dropping interview itself.”
Philip Martin, a British television director and screenwriter who worked onThe Crown, will direct the project.
“I want to put the audience inside the breathtaking sequence of events that led to the interview with Prince Andrew — to tell a story about a search for answers, in a world of speculation and varying recollections,” Martintold Netflix. “It’s a film about power, privilege and differing perspectives and how — whether in glittering palaces or high-tech newsrooms — we judge what’s true.”
Gillian Anderson and Emily Maitlis.Mike Marsland/WireImage; Darren Gerrish/WireImage
Recorded inside the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, Prince Andrew opened up about his links to Epstein for the first time, speaking out about his relationship with the disgraced millionaire and allegations that he had sex withVirginia Roberts(now Virginia Giuffre) when she was 17.
Rufus Sewell and Prince Andrew.Todd Williamson/Getty for Amazon Studios; Eamonn McCormack/Getty
Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
Although he is no longer a working royal, Prince Andrew has joined his family on occasions such asQueen Elizabeth’s funeral eventsand their annualChristmas Day church outing.
source: people.com
