Celeb roundup: Emilia Clarke to play a Kentucky informant, Kit Harington filming in Canada
By Dan Selcke
Filming for Game of Thrones Season 7 hasn’t begun yet (soon enough), but that doesn’t mean the stars are being idle. For example, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) is filming Above Suspicion, an adaptation of Joe Sharkey’s 1992 true crime novel about a rookie FBI agent who gets romantically involved with one of his informants. Then she gets pregnant with his child and kills her. Jack Hutson (Boardwalk Empire) plays the FBI agent. Clarke plays the informant.
The role is a departure for Clarke. Her character, Susan Smith, is an impoverished Kentuckian, and I’m already looking forward to hearing her speak with an American southern accent. According to The Daily Wildcat, Sharkey initially had problems with the screenplay for Above Suspicion, and was fearful that it didn’t portray Smith in all her complexity. He got more involved in the project, and a recent visit to the set allayed his fears. He was particularly complimentary about Clarke.
"She just nailed it. She ran away with the movie and the character — she made that character her own."
If Clarke can pull this role off, it could expand her choices in Hollywood. Her recent turn as a loopy home healthcare worker in Me Before You was charming, but didn’t push the boundaries of her abilities. This might be different.
Meanwhile, Kit Harington snagged the lead role in The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, about a movie star (Harington) whose correspondence with an 11-year-old actor is exposed and scrutinized by The Gossip, a magazine that specializes in…uh, gossip. He’s filming the movie in Montreal, and The Daily Mail has pictures of him…going to the grocery store. Okay. It’s also got some choice quotes. Read the article to get the full effect, but it mentions Harington’s “trademark long flowing locks,” and calls him an “upper crust beefcake” and “29-year-old muscleman actor.” It’s quite a read.
In cast members no longer with the show, Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) visited the Thiepval Memorial in Authuille, France to honor those who died in the Battle of the Somme, in World War I. Here he is reading ‘Aftermath’ by Siegfried Sassoon at a commemoration ceremony.
Netflix also released the first teaser for Marvel’s Iron Fist, starring Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) in the titular superhero role. His secret identity: Danny Rand.
Finally, actor Richard Madden (Robb Stark) had to sit out of a performance of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at London’s Garrick Theatre “due to injury,” according to the Mirror. He was playing Romeo.
The injury may have something to do with his ankle. Madden revealed that he’d hurt it in a tweet earlier this month, showing him with his foot in a bucket of ice water.
He looks in good enough spirits and will hopefully be back on the stage soon.