If there’s one thing I particularly dug about An Education it was Dominic Cooper’s smug, suave and mildly compassionate character. I mildly remembered him from The Duchess, but beyond that his roles in The History Boys and even Mamma Mia! are lost on me. Perhaps they were small and forgettable or just plain forgettable, but he was one cool cat in An Education and it’s nice to see him scoring some additional work even if it is for Lee Tamahori, the director of the disappointing Bond film Die Another Day and xXx: State of the Union.
The film is The Devil’s Double and is described by Screen Daily as a taut action tale about the extraordinary life of Latif Yahia. Cooper will play Yahia, a dead ringer for Saddam Hussein’s sadistic and widely despised son, was forced against his will to stand in for Uday in potentially dangerous situations. Through his role, Yahia gained access to Hussein’s inner sanctum and witnessed corruption, violence and debauchery.
Along with Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier is in talks to join the project which begins shooting in January in Malta. Michael Thomas, co-write of 1985’s Ladyhawke, penned the script.
Cooper has also been rumored to be playing Fandral in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor and will be starring alongside Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia, Quantum of Solace) in Stephen Frears’s Tamara Drewe.
