Game of Thrones, Braveheart actor lands a key role in Dhanush’s next film

International actor James Cosmo, who recently essayed the role of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont in television series Game of Thrones, has been roped in for a crucial role in Dhanush’s upcoming yet-untitled Tamil film with director Karthik Subbaraj.

If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, James has been signed to play the antagonist. The role was originally pitched to Hollywood actor Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but somehow the makers couldn’t convince them to come on board.

Subbaraj took to Twitter to welcome James on board. He wrote: “Welcome on board Mr James Cosmo sir!! Very happy, honoured & excited to work with an actor who starred in legendary creations like Braveheart, Troy, Game Of Thrones & many more (sic)".

The film marks the maiden collaboration of Dhanush and Subbaraj. To be predominantly shot in London, the makers are yet to reveal the rest of the cast and crew. However, the film is tipped to be an action thriller with gangster elements.

In a recent interview to Film Companion South, Subbaraj opened up on why he couldn’t bring Pacino and De Niro on board. “It's an action thriller with gangster elements. The story takes place in New York and we wanted a proper actor from Hollywood for an important role. I wanted someone from The Godfather cast to play the role. That's the reason we tried to approach Robert De Niro and Al Pacino but in vain. It was a tedious process to reach out to them.”

“First, you should approach the casting agent of the respective actor and they should like the script. And you have to wait for a particular period of time until they get back. We can't narrate the same story to some other actor for the same character. Here, I can narrate a role to multiple actors and keep my options open. It's not possible there. This process took me nearly six months."

Over the course of the next two to three months, the project will be shot in London. Dhanush is believed to shoot his portion in one stretch and return to India by October to begin work on his other commitments.