EXCLUSIVE: The life of one of Hollywood’s leading men, Cary Grant, is to be portrayed by Jason Isaacs in an ITV And BritBox International drama, Deadline can reveal.
Philomena and Stan & Ollie writer Jeff Pope is writing and exec producing Archie,named after Grant’s birthname Archibald Alexander Leach. ITV Studios will produce the series, and it will be broadcast as a flagship on ITVX’s soon-to launch streamer.
Grant is widely recognized as one of Hollywood’s leading men, gaining a reputation for his transatlantic accent, sense of comic timing and handsome, debonair demeanor over more than 70 films in a decades-long mid-twentieth century career.
He was twice nominated to the Academy Award.Penny SerenadeAndOnly the Lonely Heart is All That MattersAnd worked with some of the most prominent stars of the day, such as Sophia Loren and Grace Kelly.
Archiewill start with his birth in Bristol in 1904 and tell the story of a childhood spent in extreme poverty, dealing with his father’s adultery and the loss of older brother John. At 14 he joined the Bob Pender Troupe music hall band and moved to America where Cary Grant was born.
The program will show scenes from 1961, when Grant, at the peak of his fame, was deeply unhappy in his private life. He had already been through two divorces. Grant then began wooing TV star Dyan Cannon, who was 30 years his junior and didn’t immediately fall for his charms. He wed her in 1965 and retired one year later from film acting.
“There was only one Cary Grant and I’d never be foolish enough to try to step into his iconic shoes,” said Isaacs. “Archie Leach, on the other hand, couldn’t be further from the character he invented to save himself.”
Isaacs is an important coup for ITV. ITV has already secured Isaacs as a fellow Harry Potter Helena Bonham Carter stars in a showbiz biopic similar to this one Nolly from Russell T Davies, with both appearing to be setting the tone for what’s to come on ITVX.
Isaacs could most recently be seen in the latest season of Netflix’sSex EducationAnthony Fabian features Mrs Harris goes to Paris. He is currently filming The Crowded RoomTom Holland and I were both in New York.
Pope spokeArchieI followed his pattern and read many of his scripts. “start at the end and work backwards.”
“Cary Grant became one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century, beloved by presidents and paupers,”He concluded. “The key to everything, lay in his childhood.”
Grant’s daughter Jennifer GrantAnd former wife Cannon both gave Archietheir blessing, describing Pope’s script as “intelligent, understanding” and “capturing him so brilliantly.”
ITV Head of Drama Polly Hill added: “Jeff’s scripts beautifully tell the story of ArchieHe was a Bristol boy who was left by his father. He ran away to Hollywood and transformed into Cary Grant.
Isaacs is represented in Los Angeles by Independent Talent Group, The Gersh Agency, and Silver Lining Entertainment.