Benedict Cumberbatch Signs On for 'Gypsy Boy' Bare-Knuckles Boxing Drama
Playing the enigmatic Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series "Sherlock" kicked off Benedict Cumberbatch's career. Now, the Oscar-nominated actor will be tackling another eccentric role in the drama "Gypsy Boy."
The film is an adaptation of the autobiography "Gypsy Boy: On the Run," which was written by Mikey Walsh in 2010. He was part of the Romani community in the 1980's that developed men as bare-knuckle fighters and he is also a gay activist.
Cumberbatch will play Frank Walsh, the father of Mikey. Cumberbatch said his character is unlike any roles he has done in his previous works.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"He's a complex man torn between tradition and his love for a son struggling to come to terms with an identity that's completely at odds with Frank and his culture," Benedict said.
Casting for the actor who will play Mikey is still underway. Production for "Gypsy Boy" won't begin until the summer of 2018.
Morgan Matthews (X+Y) will direct the movie that James Graham (The Vote) will adapt from the books. Dee Koppang O'Leary (The Crown) and Kevin Loader (The Death of Stalin) will produce the film with financing from BBC.
Cumberbatch admitted he's drawn to playing eccentric characters perhaps because he's out to prove something as someone born to an affluent British family.
"Being a posh actor in England you cannot escape the class-typing from whatever side you look at it," he revealed. "I realized from quite early on that, although I wasn't trying to make a class specialty of it, I was playing slightly asexual, sociopathic intellectuals."
The news comes as Cumberbatch is in the midst of promoting his film "The Current War" where he plays Thomas Edison. Cumberbatch is also being eyed to star in a Brexit-inspired television show but details to this project are still scarce.
With such a busy schedule, Cumberbatch might not have room to return to work for "Sherlock" season 5. But his co-stars, Sian Brooke (Eurus Holmes) and Louise Brealey (Molly Hooper), are both hopeful that production for the award-winning show will resume soon.
