Big cigar? Check. Three-piece? Check. Maps of Nazi-occupied Europe? Check and check. In some ways Brian Cox's Churchill is the wartime leader we all know; in others, he's a whole different political animal. Check out this new still, debuting in the new issue of Empire on Thursday.
As last week's drama over the Transformers 5 shoot reminded us, Churchill still casts a powerful spell 51 years later. While Adolf was busy trying to emulate Michael Bay and drape Churchill's house in Nazi paraphernalia, the PM was busy stiffening his country's resolve to resist.
Jonathan Teplitzky’s drama is set in the 48 hours before the invasion of Europe. The 'standing alone' period of British history was long past, but, as the film records, Churchill's mood had barely brightened. Hence the grim faces all round as he confers with Field Marshal Alan Brooke (Danny Webb) in this shot.
“What we’ve uncovered flies in the face of public perception,” explains Teplitzky in the new Empire. “Many people will be shocked to hear Churchill was in total opposition to D-Day. He feared Operation Overlord would be another Gallipoli.”
Churchill will be fighting them in the multiplexes in 2017, with James Purefoy, Miranda Richardson and Ella Purnell also appearing. For much more on it in the meantime, pick up the new issue of Empire, on newsstands on 29 September.