Announced in March of this year, Amanda Seyfried, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Glenn Close, Orlando Bloom, Michael Gambon and Janet McTeer in the cast of “Albert Nobbs” as directed by Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother And Child“), sounded like a pretty tantalizing prospect.
A Glenn Close-shepherded project, she co-wrote the script with Man Booker prize-winning author John Banville, based on a short story by Irish author George Moore and was also producing. Clearly a passion project, she also won an Obie playing the Nobbs character in an Off-Broadway interpretation of the Moore story called “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs.” Last we heard in the spring, a Dublin production was set begin in June.
However, it seems like that shoot was delayed and according to a new report, Seyfried is out and replacing her is “Alice In Wonderland” star Mia Wasikowska.
Bleeding Cool in the U.K. says they were sent a new casting notice that noted Wasikowska as the lead and not Seyfried and perhaps the scheduling changes affected her availability. Wasikowska also starred in HBO’s excellent TV drama, “In Treatment” which Garcia helped write, develop and direct, so it probably makes perfect sense he would reach out to her. Not everyone might have seen her in it, but frankly, “In Treatment” was Wasikowska’s breakout role in the U.S. and probably the reason she went from unknown to the girl starring in a multi-million dollar Tim Burton film. She was tremendous on that show. Now we can only hope that another great “In Treatment” star Melissa George eventually gets her due.
Bleeding Cool also notes that in these new casting notices neither Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Orlando Bloom nor Michael Gambon is mentioned. Did the production delay bounce them out of the project as well? Hopefully we’ll find out soon.
“Albert Nobbs” is a “is a ‘Gosford Park‘-style ‘below stairs’ drama” featuring Close as a woman in nineteenth century Ireland who disguises herself as a man in order to survive.
