Steve Coogan is unrecognizable in the first images of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.
The actor has revamped his image to star in the stage adaptation of the iconic 1964 film, which will be screened at London’s Noël Coward Theatre next month.
The well-known actor takes on the lead role, as well as three other characters, in the production that focuses on a deranged American general who orders a bomb attack on the Soviet Union just as Peter Sellers did in the original film.
The order sets off a path to a nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop, according to IMDb.
The BAFTA-winning star plays Dr Strangelove, President Merkin Muffley, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake and Major TJ Kong, and began rehearsals for the thrilling new play in London on Thursday.
Steve Coogan, 58, looked unrecognizable in the first look at the stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr. Strangelove
The actor has revamped his look to star in the stage adaptation of the iconic 1964 film, which will be screened at London’s Noël Coward Theatre next month (pictured in May)
The 58-year-old comedian will be joined in the show by Midsomer Murders star John Hopkins, who will play General Jack D. Ripper, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actor Oliver Alvin-Wilson (Jefferson) and 1917 actor Richard Dempsey.
The Alan Partridge actor will perform in London from October 8 to January 25, 2025 before taking the show to Dublin until February 22, 2025.
This isn’t the first time Steve has changed his appearance for a role, famously transforming into Jimmy Savile for the BBC drama.
The series, which explored how the serial sex abuser managed to hide his crimes until after his death in 2011, was so well-received that Steve was nominated for a BAFTA for the risky role.
And the actor is courting controversy once again as his stage role comes as he battles legal proceedings against him for his film The Lost King.
Richard Taylor, a former deputy registrar at the University of Leicester, is suing the star, who was a writer and producer on the 2022 film.
The film focuses on historian Phillipa Langley’s role in the search for the skeleton of the controversial king. The Plantagenet king’s lost remains were found in a Leicester car park in 2012, more than 500 years after his death.
Mr Taylor, whose on-screen character was played by British actor Lee Ingleby, has taken legal action against Steve, his production company Baby Cow and Pathe Productions over his “devious” and “weasel-like” portrayal in the film.
The Greed actor will perform in London from October 8 to January 25, 2025 before taking the show to Dublin until February 22, 2025.
Peter Sellers played Dr. Strangelove in Stanley Kubrick’s original 1964 film (pictured)
Taylor’s lawyers, William Bennett KC and Victoria Jolliffe, argued their client was portrayed as “dismissive, condescending and misogynistic” towards Langley, who was played by actress Sally Hawkins.
They also claim the film “misrepresented the facts surrounding the search for and discovery of Richard III’s remains to the media and the public”.
They said this was done by “deviously manipulating the public presentation of information about the find, in order to unfairly obscure Philippa Langley’s true role and take the credit that was rightfully hers, and that of the University of Leicester”.
The judge ruled that Mr Taylor’s representation had a defamatory meaning.
His Honour Judge Lewis said: “Mr Taylor’s character was portrayed throughout the film in a negative light. At no point was he shown in a way that could be described as positive or even neutral.
‘While an individual scene may not on its own cross the threshold of seriousness, taken together the film makes a powerful commentary on the complainant and the way he conducted himself in taking on a high-level professional role for a university.
This isn’t the first time Steve has changed his appearance for a role, famously transforming into Jimmy Savile for the BBC drama (pictured) which earned him a BAFTA nomination.
Steve is courting controversy once again as his theatre role comes as he battles legal proceedings against him for his film The Lost King, where he is being sued for defamation.
‘The poor manner in which he was described behaving towards Ms Langley was contrary to the common shared values of our society and would have been recognised as such by the hypothetical reasonable bystander.’
However, he rejected Taylor’s argument that the hypothetical reasonable viewer would have come away thinking he was misogynistic or sexist.
The ruling after a preliminary hearing means the case can proceed to a full trial, where Steve, Baby Cow and Pathe will have to defend the defamatory representation.
But the issue does not seem to bother the actor, who recently confirmed he will take on the role of Mick McCarthy in a new film, Sapien, which will follow the former Ireland manager’s furious fall-out with Roy Keane at the 2002 World Cup.
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