A very impressive supporting cast with 3 Oscar nods and numerous BAFTA wins and nominations among them. The little that has been revealed about the characters hints at a very interesting story. It seems Linda Woolverton came up with a more original tale than either of the Snow Whites being released this year. With an intriguing story + an excellent cast, I am getting more excited to see this
Summary of Main Characters
India Eisley plays the young Maleficent in the opening act that establishes her role in the kingdom's heirarchy. Kenneth Cranham will play a human king who plots to conquer the world of fairies. Sharlto Copley plays his bastard son, Stefan, who is half human and half fairy. Lesley Manville will play Fittle and Imelda Staunton, Knotgrass, two of the 3 pixies that guard Elle Fanning's Aurora. Miranda Richardson is the fairy Queen Ulla, Maleficent's aunt who dislikes her, and Sam Riley is Diaval, Maleficent's right hand, a raven who can turn into human form.
with Comminsoon.net
(L -R) Cranham, Manville, Richardson, Riley, Staunton
Josh Dickey
XCLU: India Eisley gets the ultimate compliment: "You look like a younger version of Angelina Jolie!": http://bit.ly/IDvH71
Eisley set as Jolie's mini-'Maleficent'
EXCLUSIVE: India Eisley is set to play a younger version of Angelina Jolie’s character in Disney’s MALEFICENT, Variety's Jeff Sneider reports. Veteran production designer Robert Stromberg is making his directorial debut from a script by Linda Woolverton, who wrote Disney’s billion-dollar grosser ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Live-action fantasy pic stars Jolie in the title role as Disney’s ultimate villainess. Eisley will play young Maleficent in the opening act. Sharlto Copley will co-star as Stefan, the half-human, half-fairy bastard son of the human king (Kenneth Cranham). Supporting cast also includes Sam Riley as Maleficent’s right-hand man, Miranda Richardson as Maleficent’s regal aunt, and Brit thesps Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville as pixies who care for Aurora. Disney will release the pic on March 14, 2014.
EXCLU: Secret Life of the American Teenager star INDIA EISLEY to play a younger version of ANGELINA JOLIE in MALEFICENT http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118053634
Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Sam Riley & Lesley Manville Join 'Maleficent' With Angelina Jolie
by |
May 7, 2012 4:54 PM
With cameras set to roll this summer, "Maleficent" is moving fast and after adding Sharlto Copley last week, it has bolstered the cast with some more, mostly British names. THR reports that Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake," "Alice In Wonderland"), Miranda Richardson (legend, you should already know), Sam Riley ("Control," "On The Road"), Lesley Manville ("Another Year") and Kenneth Cranham ("Made In Dagenham," "Valkyrie") have all come aboard the Angelina Jolie fairy tale vehicle. The live-action film will explore the origins of the evil fairy Maleficent and what led her to curse Princess Aurora in Disney’s animated classic "Sleeping Beauty." And though her name seems to have been appearing/disappearing in reports from the trades on the movie, it looks like Elle Fanning is on board, so there you go. So yes, it's another revisionist fairy tale movie, but this cast isn't one to sneeze at.
Mike Leigh veterans Staunton and Manville will pair up to play pixies Knotgrass and Flittle, who care for Aurora. Richardson will play Maleficent's aunt Queen Ella, who doesn't particularly care for her niece, while the boys Cranham and Riley will play, respectively, a human king who plots to conquer the fairy kingdom and Diaval, a raven who can change into human form, and is Maleficent's right hand man. So yeah, sounds like this one will be epic in scope and have a shitload of special effects.
That's probably why we're not going to see the movie until March 14, 2014. But that will give plenty of time to first time director/Oscar winning production designer Robert Stromberg to get it right.
Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson Joining Angelina Jolie in 'Maleficent' (Exclusive)
Kenneth Cranham, Sam Riley, and Lesley Manville are also joining the fantasy.
12:57 PM PDT 5/7/2012 by Borys Kit
Maleficent is added a strong English line-up to its cast.
Veteran actresses Imelda Staunton and Miranda Richardson are joining Maleficent, Disney’s live-action re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale that stars Angelina Jolie.
Also boarding the production, being directed by Robert Stromberg, are Kenneth Cranham (Made in Dagenham), Sam Riley (Brighton Rock), Lesley Manville (Another Year).
Jolie is playing the title character in the project that tells the fairy tale from the point of view of the witch that cursed Aurora to a permanent sleep on her 16th birthday.
Elle Fanning is already on board as Aurora while Sharlto Copley is Stefan, the half-human, half-fairy bastard son of the human king.
Staunton and Manville are playing Knotgrass and Flittle, respectively, two of the three pixies that end up taking care of Aurora. (They were fairies in the original tales.)
Richardson will play Queen Ulla, a fairy queen who is Maleficent’s aunt -- and dislikes her niece.
Cranham will play the human king who plots to conquer the fairy kingdom.
Riley takes the role of Diaval, a raven who changes into human form and is Maleficent’s right hand.
Staunton, repped by Paradigm and UK’s Artists Rights Group, may be best known to American audiences for portraying Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter movies. She also starred in 2004’s Vera Drake, which garnered her an Oscar nomination.
Richardson, a two-time Oscar nominee, played Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter movies and appeared in AMC’s short-lived series Rubicon. She is repped by Parseghian-Planco and UK’s Independent Talent Group.
Miranda Richardson(born 3 March, 1958) plays Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
A critically-acclaimed, two-time Oscar nominee for her roles in the films Damage (1992) Tom & Viv (1994), Richardson has also appeared in films such as Empire of the Sun (1987), The Crying Game (1992), Merlin (1998), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Chicken Run (2000), The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and The Young Victoria (2009).
On television, she is best known for her numerous appearances in Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder franchise, most notably as "Queenie" in Blackadder II (1986), which also featured Robbie Coltrane. She also appeared in The Lost Prince (2003). Richardson also appeared in a Harry Potter spoof with Dawn French for Comic Relief, where she played Hermione Granger.
Born and raised in Southport, Lancashire, Richardson considered studying veterinary medicine or English literature, but ultimately chose to enrol in Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and to pursue acting as a career. Currently, she lives in West London with her pets, two cats and two dogs. An animal lover, she contributes to charities such as the World Wildlife Fund, the Humane Society of New York, and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Imelda Staunton(born 9 January 1956) is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in the British comedy television series Up the Garden Path, the Harry Potter film series (in which she plays Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge) and Vera Drake. She drew critical acclaim as Vera Drake, earning her a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a number of wins including the BAFTA and Venice Film Festival Awards for best actress in a leading role.
Lesley Manville
(born 12 March 1956) is an English actress of film, theatre and television. She frequently collaborates with director Mike Leigh, twice being named British Actress of the Year at the London Film Critics Circle Awards for her performances in the Mike Leigh films, All or Nothing and Another Year. She is also a BAFTA and Olivier award nominee.
(born 12 December 1944) is a film, television, radio and stage actor. He starred in the title role in the popular 1980s comedy drama Shine on Harvey Moon. He also appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1, Rome, Oliver! and many other films. He is probably best known to horror genre fans as the deranged Dr. Philip Channard and his Cenobitic alter-ego from Hellbound: Hellraiser II. His many stage credits include West End productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, An Inspector Calls, (both transferring to Broadway), The Ruffian on the Stair, The Birthday Party and Gaslight (at the Old Vic). Most recently, he has been heard on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play series as "DS Max Matthews" in the three-play series The Interrogation by Roy Williams.
Sam Riley(born 8 January 1980) is an English actor and singer.
His breakthrough performance came when he played the role of Ian Curtis in the film Control, a biopic about the lead singer of the 1970s post-punk band Joy Division.[1] The film received high critical acclaim due in no small part to Riley's performance, which won him a selection of awards including the British Independent Film Award for "Most Promising Newcomer"[2] a BAFTA "Rising Star" nomination;[1] and a Mark Kermode nod for Best Actor 2007.
He will next be seen in Walter Salles' On the Road which stars Kristen Stewart, Kirtsen Dunst and Viggo Mortenson and will be making its premiere in Cannes.
India Joy Eisley (born October 29, 1993) is an American teen actress best known for playing Ashley Juergens in the ABC Family teen drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Undated photo of Angelina probably in the 1990s pre-Gia
