Colin Firth Signs Up for Latest Ealing Studio Film

Work is just a bus-ride away as he starts filming Dorian Gray

Colin Firth has signed up to star opposite Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) in Dorian Gray - the retelling of the Oscar Wilde classic being filmed at Ealing Studios.

Based on "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the story centres on Gray (Barnes), a young man who becomes the subject of a painting. As the man descends into a hedonistic lifestyle, the portrait begins to age and morph, whilst he himself remains unblemished.

Firth will play Lord Henry Wotton, the aristocrat who corrupts Gray with his worldview.

Oliver Parker is directing the adaptation being produced by Barnaby Thompson. At May's Festival de Cannes, Thompson said Parker plans to make a visceral, dark horror story and that the themes of stardom are as relevant as ever.

The film began shooting this week.

Firth is also starring in the hit musical Mamma Mia! and next appears in Michael Winterbottom's Genova and Ealing Studios' Easy Virtue, both of which will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

August 8, 2008