Mark Rylance to take giant strides as The BFG

Listen up for some wondercrump news, grobswitchers, because the much sought-after Mark Rylance has stepped forward to take on the title role in Steven Spielberg‘s planned adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s The BFG.

It will be the second collaboration between the actor and director, as it will follow an as yet untitled Tom Hanks Cold War vehicle that the pair are due to start work on very soon.

But enough of such digressions, let’s concentrate on The Big Friendly Giant. Spielberg was beside himself when Rylance accepted the invitation: “Everything about his career so far is about making the courageous choice and I’m honoured he has chosen The BFG as his next big screen performance.”

Luke Kelly, Managing Director of the Roald Dahl Literary Estate, as well as the author’s grandson, heaped further praise: “We are ecstatic at this choice. Mark is incredibly talented, one of the great British actors working today.” So for those of you who are still thinking ‘Mark who?’, here’s why this ‘transformational actor’, as Spielberg put it, is such hot property.

A veteran thespian, the 50-year-old has often been talked about as the finest actor of his generation, not to mention the best since Laurence Olivier. He also has the awards to prove it, plus the honour of becoming the Globe Theatre’s very first artistic director back in 1995, for what turned out to be a ten-year stint. It is only now, as Rylance‘s on-screen appearances have become more frequent, that movie-goers are starting to sit up and take notice.

Although we will have to leave the frobscottle on ice until 2016, so as the film’s release coincides with the centenary of Dahl’s birth, it looks as though Dreamworks are well on their way to laying on a fitting tribute. Rylance, Spielberg and company will set about bringing Giant Country to life in January.