Could Daniel Craig be the new Dennis Waterman? It’s every actor’s dream, but it could become a reality if rumours of casting developments on the long-gestating screen adaptation of the classic 1970s cop show, The Sweeney, are to be believed.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Craig is being lined up for the role of Jack Carter in the film, with Ray Winstone still onboard as Jack Regan, originally played by John Thaw. Winstone has long been attached, and the film nearly went into production with him in the lead in 2008, with Nick Love directing and a then little known Michael Fassbender as Carter. However the shoot was stymied because the financiers didn’t feel there were enough star names to make it a hit, and while I’m sure that post Inglorious Basterd they’d love to invite Fassbender back, they’re now looking at other name actors to fill the Carter role.
And while the gloriously unreliable Daily Mail is touting Daniel Craig, OneIndia says he’s not the only name being floated around for Carter, as Orlando Bloom, Tom Hardy and Ewan McGregor and also said to have shown interest in the role. However what none of the reports can confirm is just how interested these actors are. Have they just seen the script and nodded they’d like to know more, or are they, as suggested, fighting it out? I’d think the former is more likely, especially as Hardy is supposedly flying off to Australia imminently to start training for Mad Max: Fury Road. However at least this suggests there’s now real movement behind The Sweeney adaptation again, and it’ll be interesting to see who will finally be picked to star opposite Winstone.