Anthony Hopkins to play King Lear

Washington (ANI): Finally, it has been confirmed that Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins will play the lead in the film adaptation of King Lear, a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Hopkins is happy that he is getting yet another chance to portray the character he played in David Hare"s production at the National Theatre 21 years ago.

Director Joshua Michael Stern has revealed that the roles of Lear's three daughters will be played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, and Keira Knightley. "The one thing that I'm staying away from is stunt casting, so there won't be the American comedian, but there will be some really great actors playing smaller roles that will make a lot of sense," Contactmusic quoted Stern as saying.

He says that he will try to be as faithful to the original text as possible because he is "not very fond of the modern adaptations". The shooting for the film is expected to begin in Britain or Ireland early next year.