Gibson, Downey Jr. Do "Hamlet"
The sobriety-challenged actor has agreed to make his first foray onto the stage as the terminally indecisive Hamlet in Shakespeare's famous tragedy, with fellow thespian Mel Gibson, who played the character on screen in 1991, directing.
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't."
The actors met while starring together in Air America and have kept in touch, according to Daily Variety. They recently began planning the stage venture, and have decided to mount a star-studded cast reading September 30. Talks are underway to get an L.A. theater in which to stage the production. Performances are slated to begin in January.
The production will mark the first time Gibson, who played the troubled Dane in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet, has directed since winning the Oscar for Braveheart.
"The play's the thing..."
For Downey, recently released from prison for a parole violation, his decision to take on one of the Bard's most famously difficult roles comes shortly after he agreed to play the equally challenging part of Calista Flockhart's love interest in the first eight episodes of Ally McBeal this fall.
"Frailty, thy name is woman!"
Ally McBeal's producers reportedly asked Downey to stay on the series longer, perhaps even as a permanent cast member.
Sources told Variety he hasn't made a decision about a longer Ally stay, but logistically he could film the episodes while rehearsing for Hamlet.
Downey was released from prison just in time for the rerelease of the Curtis Hanson-directed Wonder Boys, the film he stars in with Michael Douglas, which will be back in theaters in an attempt to gain Oscar consideration.
Something may be rotting in the state of Denmark, but in Tinseltown, one man's deception is another's redemption.
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