Jason Isaacs will star in the upcoming Cary Grant biopic Archie as the charming leading man. News of the ITV miniseries, and the Harry Potter star’s casting as Grant, made news in August, but additional cast members were unknown until today. Archie, written by Jeff Pope, will also star Laura Aikman (Bluestone 42) as Dyan Cannon, Grant’s ex-wife and Harriet Walter (Succession) as Elise Leach, Grant’s mother.
The four-part series, will also include Henry Lloyd-Hughes (Ragdoll), Ian Pulston-Davies (Coronation Street), Ian McNeice (Doc Martin), Jason Watkins (Des), Lisa Faulkner (EastEnders) and Niamh Cusack (The Virtues). Dainton Anderson (Patrick Melrose), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton), and Oaklee Pendergast (Home) will portray younger versions Grant. Kara Tointon (The Halcyon) has been cast as a young Elsie.
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The Hollywood Leading Man’s Life
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Born Archibald Alexander Leach, Grant’s career spanned over three decades. Archie will explore the Hollywood legends life from his childhood to the height of his stardom. Grant was born into poverty in Bristol in 1904. When he was just 14, he joined the music hall act the Bob Pender Troupe, a group of performers that traveled through the US and the UK. In the 1920s, a young Grant relocated to New York. After becoming a well known name in vaudeville throughout the 1920s, Grant moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s. Upon his arrival, he pursed a career in film and in 1932, Grant (now going by Cary instead of Archie) made his film debut in the comedy This is the Night.
Grant quickly became a successful leading man and during his esteemed career, the actor starred in over 70 movies, including classics like His Girl Friday, None but the Lonely Heart, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, Charade, Suspicion, Notorious, and The Philadelphia Story. His filmography includes a range of genres including screwball comedies, dramas, and crime films. Beginning in the 1940s, Grant appeared in four Hitchcock films.
His personal life seemed less triumphant, and the actor wed five times. In 1965, he married his fourth wife Cannon, and the two had a daughter: Jennifer. Grant, who was 62 at the time of his daughter’s birth, retired from acting just a few years later to devote himself to fatherhood. Grant passed away in 1986 at 82.
Both Cannon and daughter Jennifer are serving as executive producers on the project. Archie is produced by Pope’s ITV Studios label Etta Pictures. Britbox International are co-producing. Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton) will direct while Rebecca Hodgson (Sherwood) produces.
The series is scheduled to air on ITVX, ITV’s new streaming platform, later this year. Showings on the ITV network will follow months later. Production for Archie is underway in the UK.
