Mark Rylance to be Spielberg's BFG

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/27/mark-rylance-bfg-steven-spielberg

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Mark Rylance is set to take the part of the Big Friendly Giant in Steven Spielberg’s film of the Roald Dahl bestseller. Rylance, who is currently shooting Spielberg’s spy thriller St James Place, will play the genial 24-footer with superpowered hearing and speed.

“As I witnessed on stage,” said Spielberg, “Mark Rylance is a transformational actor. I am excited and thrilled that Mark will be making this journey with us to Giant Country. Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I’m honoured he has chosen The BFG as his next big screen performance.”

The BFG first appeared in Dahl’s Danny, the Champion of the World as a folkloric character; his starring vehicle explains how he collects and distributes good dreams to children. In the book which takes his name as its title, he teams up with a young girl called Sophie to defeat the man-eating giants who have been invading the human world.

The book was apparently Dahl’s personal favourite, and has been translated into 38 languages. An animated version with David Jason voicing the giant was shown on ITV in 1989.

Luke Kelly, managing director of the Roald Dahl Literary Estate and Dahl’s grandson, said: “We are ecstatic at this choice. Mark is incredibly talented, one of the great British actors working today. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Mark perform, and the thought of watching him transform into ‘the only nice and jumbly Giant in Giant Country’ is, as the BFG himself might say, absolutely phizz-whizzing.”

The book’s heroine takes her name from Dahl’s granddaughter, Sophie, who was five at the time of writing.

Rylance is one of the most acclaimed theatre actors working, with three Tony awards (for Boeing Boeing, Jerusalem and Twelfth Night) and two Olivier’s (for Jerusalem and Much Ado About Nothing). Yet he has not as yet made a major move to the big screen, despite early roles in Angels and Insects, Intimacy and The Other Boleyn Girl. He will shortly be seen in the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

No other cast is yet confirmed for the film, though the script will be adapted by Melissa Mathison, who worked with Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy on ET, and a release date of 22 July 2016 has been set.