Matt Smith just finished chronicling the highs and lows of the royal family in The Crown, and next he'll tackle one of the most infamous controversies in British politics.
The former Doctor Who actor has signed up for a leading role opposite Keira Knightley in Official Secrets, based on the real-life scandal that surrounded Iraq War whistleblower Katharine Gun.
In the run-up to war in 2003, former government translator Gun leaked classified documents exposing a US and UK-run illegal surveillance operation on members of the United Nations Security Council.
Keira Knightley has been cast in the leading role Katharine Gun in a film adaptation of the book The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War from director Gavin Hood, who made the Academy Award-winning South African drama Tsotsi (via The Hollywood Reporter).
It's yet another intriguing project for Matt Smith, who — as mentioned — just finished his final season playing Prince Philip in Netflix's lavish royal drama The Crown.
Smith has also recently become attached to play infamous American cult leader Charles Manson in American Psycho director Mary Harron's new movie Charlie Says, which centres around the trials of three women sentenced to death for their involvement in the Manson murders.
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Keira Knightley is very busy as well, having scored a Sundance Film Festival hit last month with her biopic about the influential French novelist Colette.
Later this year, she'll also be playing the Sugar Plum Fairy in Disney's holiday-themed musical The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, arriving on October 26 in UK cinemas and November 2 in the US.
Watch a trailer for The Nutcracker and the Four Realms below:
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
