BBC
David Oyelowo, Dominic West and Lily Collins have been cast as the leads in the BBC’s upcoming miniseries LES MISERABLES, and the Weinstein Company is no longer involved with the project in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the Tracking Board has confirmed.
West will play bread thief Jean Valjean, while Oyelowo will play Inspector Javert. They’ll be joined by Collins as Fantine, Ellie Bamber as Cosette, Erin Kellyman as Éponine, rising star Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country) as Marius, and Adeel Akhtar and Olivia Colman as Monsieur and Madame Thénardier.
The miniseries is based on Victor Hugo’s literary classic, which was recently adapted for the big screen in by director Tom Hooper, who cast Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway as the three leads. The latest version will begin filming next month as a co-production between BBC Studios and Lookout Point.
Written by Andrew Davies (BBC’s War & Peace), directed by Tom Shankland, and produced by Chris Carey, the series will be presented in six, one-hour episodes. Oyelowo and West will also serve as executive producers on the project along with Davies, Lookout Point’s Faith Penhale, BBC Studios’ Bethan Jones, BBC One’s Mona Qureshi and Masterpiece’s Rebecca Eaton.
Oyelowo will soon be seen in the next Cloverfield movie, while West co-stars in the new Tomb Raider film alongside Alicia Vikander. He also stars in The Square, which is considered a strong contender for a foreign language Oscar nomination. Collins recently starred in Okja and will soon be seen opposite Nicholas Hoult in Tolkien.
Oyelowo is represented by CAA, Inphenate, and Hamilton Hodell in the UK. West is repped by WME and Tavistock Wood Management. Collins is repped by CAA and Definition Entertainment. O’Connor is repped by CAA and Independent Talent Group. Colman is repped by ICM and United Agents in the UK. Bamber is repped by Curtis Brown Group and UTA.
Variety broke the news.
Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief
