Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly will star in Stan & Ollie. The planned BBC biopic will feature the actors as the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.
Active in the early days of cinema, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy entertained audiences with their trademark brand of slapstick humor. They appeared in a range of silent movies, short subjects and full- length feature films such as The Music Box and Babes In Toyland. The biopic will take place towards the end of the duo’s storied career with them struggling on the road as they embark on a tour. Coogan is set to play Laurel and Reilly will portray Hardy.
Both Coogan and Reilly have rich backgrounds in comedy. Initially rising to fame with his newscaster parody character Alan Partridge, Coogan has appeared in Tropic Thunder, In The Loop, the Night At The Museum series, and the critically-acclaimed Philomena, for which he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 86th Academy Awards. Reilly, on the other hand, had roles in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Step Brothers, Anchorman 2, and the Golden Globe-nominated Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Stan & Ollie will reunite Coogan with his Philomena co-writer, Jeff Pope, who penned the script for the new film. Jon S. Baird, who previously worked on the Scottish crime comedy Filth starring James McAvoy, will direct. The Wrap adds:
“Stan & Ollie” will be produced by Faye Ward for Fable Pictures, who most recently produced “Suffragette” starring Meryl Streep. The film will be executive produced by Christine Langan, head of BBC Films, Nichola Martin for BBC Films, Pope for Sonesta Films and Gabrielle Tana.
Coogan most recently starred in the TV series “Happyish” and has three film projects in development for 2016: “The Dinner,” “The Secret Life of Pets” and “Shepherds and Butchers.”
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