Peter Capaldi’s first role to be filmed after leaving Doctor Who will see him reunite with The Thick of It writer, Armando Iannucci.
Capaldi will play Mr Micawber in Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield, a “modern take on Dickens’ title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it”. Wilkins Micawber isn’t too far removed from the Doctor, actually – though he’s down on his luck (the first time we meet him, he’s in Southwark’s King’s Bench Prison, a debtor’s jail), he remains optimistic, with a constant belief that “something will turn up”. Indeed, his surname has become a noun, defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “one who is poor but lives in optimistic expectation of better fortune”.
The Personal History of David Copperfield is directed by Iannucci, who has co-written the script with Simon Blackwell. Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire; The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) takes the titular role. When it was announced in 2015, BBC Films’ Christine Langan said:
“[Iannucci] is a Dickens aficionado, so he wants it to be very authentic but it will have his own sensitivity.”
Perhaps the most notable Mr Micawber in the past was W. C. Fields, who starred in the 1935 film of Dickens’ novel; further iterations have been played by Bob Hoskins, Arthur Lowe, and David Jason.
Look! pic.twitter.com/0AKEpgWcWj
— Armando Iannucci (@Aiannucci) May 8, 2018
Peter Capaldi played Malcolm Tucker in Armando’s The Thick of It between 2005 and 2012, and starred as the Twelfth Doctor regularly between 2014 and 2017; The Personal History of David Copperfield will be his first part filmed after departing in Twice Upon A Time, although he also voices Rabbit in the upcoming Christopher Robin movie.
The Personal History of David Copperfield is expected to start filming later this year; however, very little is known right now. Rest assured that, as ever, the DWC will keep you updated with all the latest news.
