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The Guardian (02/Feb/2006) - Hitchcock role for Little Britain star

(c) The Guardian (02/Feb/2006)


Hitchcock role for Little Britain star

British comic Matt Lucas is to make his big screen debut in a biopic of Alfred Hitchcock. The Little Britain star will reportedly play Hitchcock during the director's early years in east London during the 1920s and 30s. Ewan McGregor is also tipped to star in the as-yet-untitled production.

A grocer's son from Leytonstone, Hitchcock rose up through the ranks of the fledgling British industry, directing a number of silent thrillers in the UK and Germany before graduating to talkies. He moved to Hollywood in 1939 to film an adaptation of the Daphne Du Maurier novel Rebecca. Subsequent films, including Strangers on a Train, Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho, established him as arguably the most successful British director in Hollywood history.

After early work as a sidekick to comic Vic Reeves, Lucas went on to develop the Little Britain sketch show alongside David Walliams. With his bald head and pugnacious air, the 31-year-old actor bears a passing resemblance to the late, great film-maker. "Matt is a perfect choice," an unnamed source told the Mirror newspaper. "Their physical similarities are uncanny and he is a big fan of Hitch's movies."