Gillian Anderson is to star in a controversial new BBC1 adaptation of War And Peace which will feature an incestuous relationship and sex scenes not included in Leo Tolstoy’s original novel.
Anderson, whose TV credits include the X-Files and BBC crime drama The Fall, is the latest big name to join the cast of the six- part adaptation.
Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent, Shine On Harvey Moon star Kenneth Cranham and The Thick Of It actress Rebecca Front have also signed up for what is rapidly becoming the most anticipated period drama of the year.
And last month The Mail on Sunday exclusively revealed that Downton Abbey star Lily James, Paul Dano — who played a plantation manager in 12 Years A Slave — The Young Ones star Ade Edmondson, White Mischief actress Greta Scacchi and James Norton, who played a rapist in Happy Valley, had all landed roles.
But it is the casting of Anderson as the “scheming and manipulative” high-society hostess Anna Pavlovna Scherer that is likely to create the biggest stir.
Anderson, 46, recently won critical acclaim for her role as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson in The Fall. The drama’s Bafta-winning writer Andrew Davies said he was delighted to be reunited with the actress — who also starred in his 2005 adaptation of Bleak House.
He said: “The thing with Gillian is that she never does what is expected of her and it will be thrilling to see what she does with the part.”
He added: “Her character is a wealthy St Petersburg hostess who is charming but manipulative. She is far more interested in the private lives of others than with her own.”
Davies has been criticised in the past for “sexing up” the books he adapts for television, and the writer believes War And Peace is likely to cause a stir for the same reasons. He said: “I included entirely new scenes that were not in the novel.
“These inevitably deal with the sexual side of things. Tolstoy is sometimes only able to hint at things which we can expand on.” He added: “The surprising this is how modern and relevant these characters will appear to an audience.”
Davies also said his adaptation would also expand on what he believed was an incestuous relationship at the heart of the novel. He said: “Tolstoy does hint at this relationship in the novel but we are going to be quite clear about it.
“There will be a scene where a brother and sister show their real feelings for each other, and I don’t think viewers will be in any doubt about their attraction.”
Tolstoy’s 1869 novel, which is regarded as one of the greatest works in literary history, charts the lives and loves of five aristocratic families against the backdrop of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia.
Broadbent has landed the pivotal role of Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky. Cranham will play Uncle Mikhail and Miss Front is expected to take on the part of Anna Mikhaylovna.
The lavish adaptation, which is a co-production between the BBC and Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, is due to begin filming in St Petersburg at the end of this month and should be on our screens before the end of the year.
