Armando Iannucci already has quite the cast for his latest film, The Death Of Stalin. With the production in full swing, he's added another actor, with Homeland's Rupert Friend aboard.
Friend joins an ensemble that already boasts Jason Isaacs, Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Olga Kurylenko, Timothy Dalton, Toby Kebbell, Michael Palin, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine and Andrea Riseborough in a film that won't swing towards the comic quite as much as some of Iannucci's other work, but will still be darkly funny.
Adapted by Iannucci, David Schneider and Ian Martin from the eponymous graphic novel Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, the film is based on true events that followed Stalin's collapse. As his ministers tussled for control and tried to chart the future of the Soviet Union, they were also acutely aware of the danger to their own lives.
“The Death Of Stalin has everything: comedy, tragedy, truth, lies, life, death, bravery and cowardice. All under the shadow of Stalin’s Terror," says the co-writer/director. "So I’m really pleased we have an amazingly multifaceted cast who can give us all these things and more. It’s an unbelievable ensemble – great actors, brilliant comedians, fantastic personalities – and together they give us all the horrific drama and base absurdity of the crazy last days of Stalin and the power struggle to succeed him.”