Tom Hooper has been steadily building his core cast for musical adaptation Les Miserables, and now he’s adding some comic relief in the form of Sacha Baron Cohen, who has reportedly landed the part of innkeeper Monsieur Thenardier.
While there has been no official announcement (and The King’s Speech’s Geoffrey Rush had been rumoured for the job), The Sun has it that Cohen will take on the role of the craven, cheating host, who delights alongside his wife (Helena Bonham Carter, apparently) in fleecing their customers, as shown in their big show stopping number Master Of The House. The role was recently played onstage by Matt Lucas. Thenardier and his wife also take in the young Cosette and turn her into a domestic slave until Valjean (Hugh Jackman) shows up to rescue her.
It’s a perfect fit for Cohen, who has already showed musical chops off in Sweeney Todd (which, of course, also featured Bonham-Carter in a thoroughly despicable role). If it’s confirmed, he’ll join a cast that already includes Jackman, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne and Anne Hathaway.
Hooper aims to start production in February, working from a script by William Nicholson.