Mark Rylance to Lead Steven Spielberg’s THE BFG

Roald Dahl adaptation casts its benevolent giant…

It has been announced that three-time Tony Award winner and two-time Olivier Award winner Mark Rylance (‘The Other Boleyn Girl,’ ‘Anonymous,’ ‘Blitz’) has been cast as the title character in the upcoming adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved classic children’s novel ‘The BFG.’

Steven Spielberg will direct the tale of a young girl, the Queen of England and a benevolent giant known as the BFG, who set out on an adventure to capture the evil, man-eating giants who have been invading the human world.

“As I witnessed on stage, Mark Rylance is a transformational actor,” said Spielberg in the official press release. “I am excited and thrilled that Mark will be making this journey with us to Giant Country. Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I’m honoured he has chosen The BFG as his next big screen performance.”

“We are ecstatic at this choice. Mark is incredibly talented, one of the great British actors working today. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Mark perform, and the thought of watching him transform into ‘the only nice and jumbly Giant in Giant Country’ is, as The BFG himself might say, absolutely phizz-whizzing,” added Luke Kelly, Managing Director of the Roald Dahl Literary Estate and Dahl’s grandson.

Producers are Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Sam Mercer. Kathleen Kennedy, John Madden and Michael Siegel. Melissa Mathison, who last teamed with Spielberg and Kennedy on ‘E.T.,’ is providing the screenplay.

Rylance is currently working with Spielberg on the Untitled Cold War Spy Thriller, which stars Tom Hanks. His other upcoming projects include ‘The Gunman,’ ‘Days and Nights,’ and the lead role in the much-anticipated BBC adaptation of ‘Wolf Hall.’