Hollywood’s veteran actor Al Pacino’s will be starring in an adaptation of a famous Shakespearean play. The actor will play King Lear on the big screen, heading the cast of a major film adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy that begins filming next year.
Michael Radford, who worked with Pacino in 2004’s “The Merchant of Venice” where the actor played Shylock, will direct the new King Lear film.
Radford told the Observer: “Lear is the one that everyone aims for. Al has been toying with the idea for a long time. There’s a difference between Shylock, who’s only in five scenes, and Lear, who is in every scene, pretty much. It’s enormous. I think [Pacino] would like to have that kind of kudos because he’s a terrific actor.”
Pacino made his name playing gangsters and cops in films such as “The Godfather,” “Scarface” and “Serpico.” With King Lear, Pacino is following in the footsteps of Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles, as he continues to take on one of the world’s most coveted acting roles.
Pacino said that Shakespeare on film “should be tried more often… to take the humanity that Shakespeare writes into characters and express it.”
The actor described the adaptation as “very faithful” to Shakespeare.
“Michael and Al are going to stick to the original poetry,” producer Barry Navidi said. “But a lot is to do with the delivery and the visuals. How Michael combines it and makes it more accessible, it becomes naturalistic rather than forced.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
