Domhnall Gleeson: From ‘Star Wars’ villain to beloved children’s book author

After Domhnall Gleeson”s huge 2015 (Star Wars, Ex Machina, Brooklyn, The Revenant – this guy was everywhere, everywhere Oscar-nominated at least), and with several films on deck, he”s lining up another project.

Gleeson is in talks to play A.A. Milne, the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh, in a biopic called Goodbye Christopher Robin. Deadline first reported the news.

Look at Gleeson next to Milne. Good work, casting director!

Photo credits: Universal Pictures; Library of Congress

The film chronicles the relationship between the English author and his son, Christopher Robin, who inspired the character who counts a honey-loving teddy bear, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Tigger among his friends. As an adult, Christopher Robin Milne expressed unhappiness with his father”s use of his name in his stories and poems.

My Week with Marilyn director Simon Curtis will helm the film.

Goodbye Christopher Robin is a chance for Gleeson to delve into another poignant father-son tale, as he did with 2013″s About Time, though assumedly with less time travel in this one. (In real life, Gleeson”s father is Irish actor Brendan Gleeson.)

Though Winnie-the-Pooh is a character most often associated with Disney these days (the House of Mouse has made several shorts and features about the character), this biopic is not a reunion of Gleeson with his Star Wars studio. It actually would likely team up the actor with his Brooklyn family – Fox Searchlight is looking to produce the project. 

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