Hollywood actor James Franco will make his Broadway debut in a production of Of Mice And Men beginning March 2014, a play that hasn’t been performed on Broadway in nearly 40 years.
Playing the part of George, he’ll be joined by Chris O’Dowd in the role of Lenny. O’Dowd initially found fame on British television in The IT Crowd before successfully making the transition to Hollywood, appearing in Bridesmaids, This Is 40 and the hit HBO TV series Girls.
Franco originally announced the project in March this year, and gave details of casting and direction a month ago, but the project has been officially announced by lead producer David Binder. The play’s director will be Anna Shapiro, who won a Tony for her production of August: Osage County, since turned into a film starring Meryl Streep.
‘Stage actor’ is another hyphen for Franco to add to his already multiple talents. He has appeared on screen in everything from Planet Of The Apes and Spider-man to Allen Ginsberg biopic Howl and Danny Boyle thriller 127 Hours, for which he was Oscar-nominated; he has also directed adaptations of work by Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner. Following a collection of short stories in 2011, his debut novel is published next year, and as well as making his own art, he curated a show at London’s Victoria Miro gallery earlier this year. He’s previously worked in theatre, having directed the multimedia dance piece Collage in 2011.
He’s even currently blowing up the internet with his shot-for-shot remake of Kanye West’s infamous Bound 2 video, co-starring a topless Seth Rogen.
From www.theguardian.com
