“Lady Macbeth” Actress Florence Pugh to Topline John le Carré Miniseries at AMC
Florence Pugh is gearing up to star in another thriller about love and betrayal. Fresh from her turn as a 19th-century femme fatale in this summer’s “Lady Macbeth,” Pugh has signed on for the lead role in “The Little Drummer Girl,” an AMC miniseries based on John le Carré’s 1983 bestselling spy novel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project will begin production in January.
The 1970s-set “Little Drummer Girl” will see Pugh portray Charlie, a young actress preparing to perform in the “theater of the real” amidst the growing tensions in the Middle East.
“The Handmaiden” director Park Chan-wook will helm the six-part miniseries in his television debut. Laura Hastings-Smith (“Macbeth”) will produce, and exec producers include le Carré and Mona Qureshi. No word on who will write the project..
“I read the book when it was published in the 1980s, and it’s frightening and thought-provoking to recognize how relevant the story still is today,” observed AMC programming president David Madden. “Florence Pugh is a gifted actress who will make a stunning Charlie, and Park is a filmmaker of extraordinary vision whose entry into the world of le Carré-style espionage should be irresistible.”
Le Carré’s “The Little Drummer Girl” was previously adapted into a 1984 film starring Oscar winner Diane Keaton as Charlie.
Pugh received several acting awards from film fests as well as a nod at the British Independent Film Awards for her star-making turn in “Lady Macbeth.” She played a young wife willing to do anything — including lie, cheat, and kill — to protect herself and her lover in the Alice Birch-penned film. Carol Morley’s “The Falling” and series “Marcella” are among Pugh’s other credits.
