About the Film
Often hailed as one of the finest actors of his generation, Ewan McGregor consistently captivates audiences with a diverse line‑up of roles across a multitude of genres, styles and scope.
Currently, McGregor is in post‑production on his directorial debut American Pastoral, based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel. McGregor will also star in the film opposite Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning. Lionsgate will release the film in October 2016.
McGregor stars in Rodrigo García’s Last Days in the Desert, where he plays both a demon and a holy man on a journey through the desert. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was released in May 2016 by Broad Green Pictures. McGregor also stars in Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead opposite Cheadle and Zoe Saldana. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics on April 1.
McGregor marked his Broadway debut as Henry in Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award®–winning play The Real Thing, directed by Sam Gold, opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal. The play opened on October 30, 2014 and ran until January 4, 2015 at the American Airlines Theatre in New York.
Among his more recent film roles are Gavin O’Connor’s Jane Got a Gun, Julius Avery’s Son of a Gun, David Koepp’s Mortdecai, and John Wells’ film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer‑and Tony‑winning play August: Osage County opposite Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. McGregor also starred in The Impossible, a drama based on a true story of one family’s terrifying account of the 2004 tsunami and the compelling events as they fought to survive in the face of disaster, and Beginners, opposite Christopher Plummer, and based on director Mike Mills’ personal story, where he portrayed a man coming to terms with his dying father’s latent homosexuality.
McGregor also garnered terrific acclaim for his performance in Lasse Hallström’s moving film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen alongside Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas. The film premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and garnered McGregor a Best Actor Golden Globe® nomination.
From his breakthrough role as the heroin‑addicted Mark Renton in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, to the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode I: The Phanton Menace, to starring as Christian opposite Nicole Kidman in the Oscar® and BAFTA award–winning musical Moulin Rouge, McGregor’s career has been highlighted by a continuous string of bold and daring performances. His diverse film credits include Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire; Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer, opposite Pierce Brosnan; Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere; Jack the Giant Slayer with Stanley Tucci; Ron Howard’s Angels and Demons with Tom Hanks; the comedy I Love You Phillip Morris opposite Jim Carrey; Deception, also starring Michelle Williams and Hugh Jackman; the drama romance, Incendiary; Woody Allen’s Cassandra’s Dream; the biography drama, Miss Potter; Scenes of a Sexual Nature, directed by Edward Blum; Marc Forster’s supernatural thriller, Stay, alongside Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling; Michael Bay’s The Island with Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou and Steve Buscemi; Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith; the animated films Robots directed by Chris Wedge, and Valiant directed by Gary Chapman; Tim Burton’s Big Fish alongside Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Alison Lohman, Jessica Lange and Danny DeVito; Young Adam with Peter Mullan and Tilda Swinton, for which he received a London Film Critics Circle Awards nomination; Down With Love opposite Renée Zellweger; Ridley Scott’s historical drama Black Hawk Down; Rogue Trader; the Golden Globe®–winning film Little Voice, alongside Jane Horrocks and Michael Caine; and the glam rock film, Velvet Goldmine.
McGregor received critical acclaim for his role in Danny Boyle’s A Life Less Ordinary, for which he won the Best British Actor Award (for the third time running) at the 1997 Empire Movie Awards. For his role in the BAFTA award–winning Shallow Grave, McGregor was honored with the Hitchcock D’Argent Best Actor Award and a nomination for Best Actor at the BAFTA Scotland Awards. On television, McGregor was lauded by critics, and won an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Guest Actor for his episodic role in the NBC television series ER.
McGregor is a devoted and influential philanthropist, and serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing long‑term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. Additionally, he was the face of the global British luxury lifestyle brand Belstaff.
McGregor was born in Perth, Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles.
Naomie Harris is a critically acclaimed actress in film, television and theatre. Most recently, Harris reprised her role as Miss Moneypenny in Spectre, the 24th installment of the James Bond franchise, opposite Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes and Christoph Waltz. She first played Moneypenny for director Sam Mendes in Skyfall, which won the 2013 BAFTA Film Award for Outstanding British Film and went on to be Sony Pictures’ highest grossing film ever with a worldwide box office of over $918 million.
Harris recently completed production on Andy Serkis’ Jungle Book: Origins, adapted from the Rudyard Kipling novel about an orphaned boy raised by animals in the wild. She plays she‑wolf Nisha alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett, who also lend their voices to the film, which is slated to be released by Warner Bros in October 2017.
Other recent on screen appearances include her role in Antoine Fuqua’s Southpaw, alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams and Forest Whitaker, as a social worker who tries to reunite a former middleweight boxing champion with his daughter after the tragic loss of his wife leaves his life spiraling out of control. Prior to that, she starred in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom opposite Idris Elba. For her performance as Mandela’s controversial second wife Winnie, Harris was nominated for two London Critics Circle Awards and an NAACP Image Award.
The London‑born actress first broke through in 2002 with Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, going on to further international recognition and a BAFTA Orange Rising Star nomination for her role as the voodoo witch Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Other major feature film credits include Michael Mann’s Miami Vice; Michael Winterbottom’s Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story; Street Kings with Keanu Reeves and Forrest Whittaker; Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll with Andy Serkis; and Justin Chadwick’s The First Grader.
Harris starred in Danny Boyle’s production of Frankenstein opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller at London’s National Theatre. For television, she was awarded Best Actress at The Royal Television Society Awards in 2010 for her role in the BBC’s Small Island. Her other TV credits include Blood and Oil, the popular UK television adaptation of Zadie Smith’s bestselling novel White Teeth, Poppy Shakespeare and Peter Kosminsky’s The Project.
Harris graduated with honors from Cambridge University with a degree in social and political science, and then trained at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Stellan Skarsgård is one of the busiest and most versatile actors working today, with a body of work that spans both independent cinema and Hollywood blockbusters. His work with Lars von Trier includes Breaking the Waves, Dogville, Melancholia and Nymphomaniac. For Marvel he has played Dr. Erik Selvig four times, in two installments each of both Thor and The Avengers. He also played Bootstrap Bill Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and was one of the potential fathers in the wildly successful Mamma Mia! Other recent high profile roles have included The Grand Duke in Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, Martin Vanger in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, plus roles in The Railway Man alongside Colin Firth, Hector and the Search For Happiness alongside Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike, In Order of Disappearance for director Hans Petter Moland, and King of Devil’s Island for Marius Holst.
A teenage star on Swedish television, he spent 16 years with the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre and has appeared in more than 80 films.
His recent roles include, for television, the title role in River, created by Abi Morgan, which premiered autumn 2015.
With an expansive list of diverse film, theatre and television credits, Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award–winning actor Damian Lewis has evolved into one of this generation’s most respected and sought‑after actors.
Currently, Lewis can be seen starring opposite Paul Giamatti in the Showtime television series Billions. The 12‑episode series revolves around politics and power in the world of Wall Street and New York investment firms. Billions was picked up for a second season shortly after the January 2016 series premiere. The role marks a highly anticipated return to the premium cable networks for Lewis.
In 2015, Lewis was seen on‑stage starring in the West End revival of David Mamet’s American Buffalo, directed by Daniel Evans. The play, in which John Goodman and Tom Sturridge also starred, opened at the Wyndham Theatre on April 16, 2015, and closed on June 27, 2015. This marked Lewis’ much‑anticipated return to the stage since 2009’s The Misanthrope.
Also in 2015, Lewis was seen in Wolf Hall, the critically acclaimed BBC Two/Masterpiece Theater six‑part television miniseries adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize–winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, directed by BAFTA‑winning Peter Kosminsky. Lewis played Henry VIII opposite Mark Rylance. The miniseries aired on BBC Two in the UK from January 21, 2015 to February 25, 2015, and premiered on PBS’ Masterpiece in the US on Sunday, April 5, 2015. Lewis received a 73rd Annual Golden Globe® nomination in the Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television category on behalf of his performance in the series. The series itself was awarded with a 73rd Annual Golden Globe® in the category of Best Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
Lewis is most notably known as Sergeant Nicholas Brody in Showtime’s critically acclaimed and award‑winning television series Homeland, developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa. The series co‑stars Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison, a CIA officer who believes that Lewis’ character, who was held captive by Al‑Qaeda as a prisoner of war, may have been turned by the enemy and is now a possible threat to the United States. The series, which recently finished airing its third season, won the 2012 and 2013 Golden Globe® Awards for Best Television Series, Drama, as well as the 2012 Primetime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series. Lewis’ performance earned him a 2013 Golden Globe® Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama and a 2012 Primetime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, among other accolades. He received a 2013 Primetime Emmy® nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category on behalf of his performance in the series.
In February 2014, Lewis completed production on director Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert, starring opposite Nicole Kidman. The film is a chronicle of Gertrude Bell (Kidman) and her life as a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political attaché of the British Empire. Lewis plays Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty‑Wylie, an unhappily married English war hero who engages in a turbulent affair with Bell, with whom he exchanged love letters with from 1913–1915 until he was killed in active duty at Gallipoli. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival, and was released in the US in April 2016.
In late 2013, Lewis completed production in Scotland on the Neon Films drama, The Silent Storm. The film, set on Scotland’s Isle of Mull, is the directorial debut for Corinna Villari‑McFarlane and is produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Lewis stars opposite Andrea Riseborough in the film, which follows an enigmatic outsider (Riseborough) who finds herself caught between her commanding minister husband (Lewis) and the vitality of a 17‑year‑old delinquent (newcomer Ross Anderson) who is sent to live with them. The film had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2014 and was released in the UK on May 6, 2016. The film does not yet have a US release date, but it was recently acquired by Roadside Attractions.
Lewis first came to the attention of American audiences in 2001 with his Golden Globe®–nominated performance as World War II hero Richard Winters in the award‑winning HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Tom Hanks. He also starred as Soames Forsyte in the acclaimed British production of The Forsyte Saga, Series 1 and II. From 2007‑2009, Lewis starred as the complex and eccentric Detective Charlie Crews in two seasons of the NBC drama series Life. In April 2012, Lewis appeared for a fourth time as a guest host on the iconic British television panel quiz show Have I Got News for You, which airs on BBC1.
Lewis’ other television and miniseries credits include the BAFTA‑winning BBC miniseries Warriors, Hearts and Bones, Jeffrey Archer – The Truth, Colditz and BBC’s ShakespeaRe‑Told: Much Ado About Nothing.
Additional film credits include the Carlo Carlei–directed adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, written by Oscar®–winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes; The Sweeney, a film adaptation of the popular ’70s UK television series; David Gordon Green’s Your Highness; Rupert Wyatt’s The Escapist; Brides; Chromophobia; Keane; The Situation; Dreamcatcher; Stormbreaker and The Baker, which he also co‑produced through his production company, Picture Farm.
Lewis always felt a strong connection to the stage, and has given brilliant performances as some of Shakespeare’s legendary characters, including Romeo in Romeo & Juliet and the title character in Hamlet. After training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Lewis joined the British theatre community and appeared in a number of plays between 1993–98, primarily as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. During that time, he starred as Laertes in Jonathan Kent’s Broadway production of Hamlet opposite Ralph Fiennes. He also played the role of Hamlet at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in London. In 2003, Lewis returned to the London stage opposite Helen McCrory in Five Gold Rings at the Almeida Theatre. He then starred in the 2005–06 National Theatre production of Ibsen’s Pillars of the Community. Lewis also led an outstanding ensemble with Keira Knightley, Dominic Rowan and Tara Fitzgerald in the 2009/2010 West End Comedy Theatre production of The Misanthrope, directed by Thea Sharrock.
Lewis currently resides in London with his wife, daughter and son.
Twice Emmy®–nominated director Susanna White is highly prolific, recognized for her work on BAFTA Award–winning series, and known for her wide‑ranging body of work with some of the world’s top writers from Tom Stoppard to David Simon.
In 2013 she directed the critically acclaimed Parade’s End (BBC/HBO), adapted for television from the novels by Ford Madox Ford by Sir Tom Stoppard, and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall. Previously for HBO she directed David Simon’s Generation Kill, the true story of a group of US recon marines spearheading the invasion of Iraq, which was nominated for 11 Emmy® awards including Outstanding Directing.
She made her debut feature film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang for Working Title Films. Written by and starring Emma Thompson, the film also features Maggie Gyllenhall, Dame Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Ewan McGregor and Rhys Ifans. It was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Film in the children’s category.
White was lauded for her six episodes of Bleak House for the BBC, winning a host of international broadcast awards including the BAFTA and RTS awards for Best Drama Serial. From this, White went on to direct another highly‑regarded drama series for the BBC, Jane Eyre, which earned her an Emmy® nomination.
White’s early career includes award‑winning Volvo City about the Hasidic Jewish community of north London and the BAFTA and Emmy®–nominated Tell me the Truth About Love (about W. H. Auden).