Anthony Hopkins Cast in New Gladiator Series on Peacock
Anthony Hopkins has been cast in Those About to Die, Peacock's historical epic from Roland Emmerich. The two-time Academy award-winning actor will play Emperor Vespasian in the series, according to AGC Television, whose chairman and CEO Stuart Ford announced the move today in a statement. Emmerich (Independence Day, Moonfall), who serves as an executive producer on Those About to Die, will direct the series from a script by Oscar-nominated writer Robert Rodat (The Patriot, Saving Private Ryan). Rodat will also executive produce.
Per its official synopsis, Those About to Die is an epic drama set in the complex and corrupt world of spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition. The series introduces an ensemble of diverse characters from all parts of Roman society who collide at the intersection of sports, politics and dynasties of the ancient world."
Hopkins's Vespasian is described as "the Emperor of Rome and head of the Flavian bloodline. He is battle tested, a rural upstart who claimed his throne after victory in a bloody ten-year civil war. He is aging and is despised by the Patricians jockeying for position in the Empire and looking to supplant his heirs to the throne the first chance they get."
Other executive producers include Hollywood Gang's Gianni Nunnari (The Departed, 300) and Street Entertainment's Harald Kloser (Independence Day: Resurgence, Midway) will executive produce alongside High End's Herbert G. Kloiber, Martin Moszkowicz, Oliver Berben and Jonas Bauer, and AGC CEO Stuart Ford and Chief Content Officer Lourdes Diaz. Italian co-producer Wild Side Productions (The Young Pope, My Brilliant Friend) will provide local production services.
Peacock has already granted the show a straight-to-series order, with co-financing from High End Productions. They will have distribution rights in Europe, with the remaining worldwide rights handled by AGC International.
Hopkins received an Academy Award for his performance in The Father (2020), his second after Silence of the Lambs (1991). He was also honored with the Best Actor Award by the British Academy of Film & Television Arts for The Father & The Remains of the Day and has received two Emmy Awards. Ranked as the #1 film villain by the American Film Institute, Hopkins reprised his Oscar-winning portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter from Silence Of The Lambs, in the prequel Red Dragon, and sequel Hannibal. He is set to appear in director Zack Snyder's Star Wars-inspired Rebel Moon later this year.
The news comes as Ridley Scott has finally cast the lead in his long-gestating sequel to Gladiator, the Oscar-winning epic that briefly re-popularized the genre.