British Thesps Too Weedy

Wolfgang Petersen, the German director of The Perfect Storm, thinks that there are no British actors capable of playing Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton in his forthcoming film. Instead he's looking to cast an Australian actor, probably Mel Gibson or Russell Crowe. "There are some fine British actors, like Ralph Fiennes, but I just don't think there is anyone larger than life enough to fill Shackleton's shoes" Petersen told the Sunday Express. His film, Endurance is set to start filming next year, and follows Shackleton's disastrous voyage to the Antarctic in 1914. Petersen's comments have angered members of Equity and historians in equal measure. But maybe Mel Gibson's not such a tough guy either. Petersen said "I've already had talks with Mel and he's very interested but he's a little bit afraid of the cold". If Mel's not up for it, Empire Online would like to suggest Sean Bean or Alan Rickman amongst many other possibilities. It's just a shame that Brian Blessed's far too busy climbing mountains for real.