With only a couple of days to go before British director Michael J. Bassett calls ‘action!’ on his biggest movie to date, he’s firmed up the cast of his epic action-adventure Solomon Kane.
Joining James Purefoy in the title role as Robert E. Howard’s 16th century Puritan hero, a man who is damned by his own actions but resolves to fight for the forces of good, are the likes of Pete Postlethwaite, Max Von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Alice Krige, and Mackenzie Crook.
OK, so they may not be A-listers, but they’re each excellent character actors, and with Bassett planning for a trilogy of Kane movies, this allows him to spend his budget on sets, special effects and visual spectacle while still having a strong acting base.
Von Sydow, the Swedish acting legend, will play Kane’s father. Hurd-Wood, last seen in Perfume, will play the ethereal Meredith who we’re guessing, given the age difference between her and Purefoy, will not be Kane’s love interest.
Krige, whom you might remember as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact, will play Meredith’s mum, while the earthy Postlethwaite will play Meredith’s dad. Mackenzie Crook will play a character called Father Michael and, if we were a betting website, we’d put good money on this character being the comic relief.
Shooting begins in Prague any day now, with Samuel Hadida producing along with Paul Berrow. Should be interesting – Bassett has cut his teeth on a couple of low-budget horror movies, Deathwatch and Wilderness, and we’ll be keeping an eye on this one. It’s always good to see a Brit director aiming high.