Jason Isaacs Starring In Biopic About One Of The Most Famous Actors Ever
Jason Isaacs will be portraying one of the truly iconic actors of a generation and he looks up to the task.
Archibald Leach aka Cary Grant will be portrayed by Jason Issacs in a biopic covering one of the most famous actors of all time, born out of the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema. Deadline reports that Jason Isaacs will step into Cary Grant’s shoes in a four-parter produced by ITV and BritBox International. Titled Archie, the story comes courtesy of the creative mind of Jeff Pope, writer of Philomena and Stan & Ollie. Pope will serve as writer and executive producer of Archie.
Jason Isaacs’ portrayal of Cary Grant will be at the forefront of the new ITVX streaming service. ITVX launches later this year as an ad-supported and subscription-based streaming service and will lead British Broadcaster ITV’s coverage. Archie will chart Cary Grant’s life before the creation of his Hollywood persona and continue to the height of his fame, which was fractured by a difficult personal life. Grant was born in Bristol, England, in 1904 as Archibald Alexander Leach. Leach grew up in poverty and in a troubled household before leaving home in his teens became a part of the music hall act the Bob Pender Troupe before migrating to the US to launch a career in Hollywood.
In Hollywood, Archibald Leach became Cary Grant, and his life became split between his career and personal life, something Jason Isaacs will take on in this film. Grant’s acting career is the stuff of legend, with over 77 acting credits including classics such as To Catch a Thief, Suspicion, Charade, and North By Northwest. The two-time Oscar nominee often worked with cinema icons such as director Alfred Hitchcock, and actress Grace Kelly.
Archie will focus on a particular year of Grant’s life, 1961, when despite his career being at its pomp, Grant was at a lower ebb in his personal life following two failed marriages. The actor stepping into Cary Grant’s shoes, Jason Isaacs, will be known to many as Lucius Malfoy in the series of Harry Potter films. Issacs has also starred in Sex Education, Inside No. 9 and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.
With Cary Grant, Jason Isaacs takes on an enviable but difficult role. Since Grant was an icon to many, it will be easy to draw comparisons between Isaacs’ portrayal and the real man. The actor is more than aware of the task at hand saying, “There was only one Cary Grant and I’d never be foolish enough to try to step into his iconic shoes.” However, whilst he may be weary of trying to encapsulate the suave, charming Hollywood persona of Cary Grant, Jason Issacs finds Archibald Leach a much more enticing prospect; “Archie Leach, on the other hand, couldn’t be further from the character he invented to save himself.”
Jason Issacs as Cary Grant in a four-part biopic is a rich and potent mix that will surely entice plenty of viewers to the new ITVX streaming platform. Cary Grant is a beloved actor, a superstar of epic proportions and Archibald Leach is a troubled man with an intriguing family back story, a rich tapestry for both Isaacs and writer Jeff Pope to draw upon. A release date for this exciting project is unknown at this time with filming yet to begin, further casting announcements are expected as production gets up and running.
