Serkis and Fisher confirmed for Burke and Hare
Serkis and Fisher confirmed for Burke and Hare cast
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Friday, 22, Jan 2010 10:15
By Lewis Bazley.
Bafta nominee Andy Serkis is one of three new additions to the cast of John Landis' upcoming horror comedy Burke and Hare, it has been announced.
Doctor Who actor David Tennant was set to star alongside Simon Pegg in the tale of the renowned 19th century grave robbers but had to withdraw from the project after landing the lead in a television pilot for US network NBC.
However, Serkis, who on Thursday claimed a best actor Bafta nomination for his turn in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, will step in as the Hare to Pegg's Burke.
Comedic actress Isla Fisher is also to join the cast, playing Burke's girlfriend, an aspiring actress who becomes an accessory to Burke and Hare's murders.
Finally, Tom Wilkinson has been cast as Dr Robert Knox, an anatomy lecturer in need of fresh cadavers and a client of the murderous grave robbers.
Burke and Hare begins shooting in Edinburgh and London at the end of January, with Landis back in the director's chair for the first time in more than a decade.
The news of Serkis' casting led to some curious online rumour-mongering this week, after a Pegg post on Twitter noted that "a legend of Middle Earth and Skull Island has come aboard".
While clearly a reference to Serkis' performances in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, the post was also taken by some as a signal that Tennant could be joining the cast of Guillermo del Toro's films based on The Hobbit.