Sex Education star Connor Swindells has signed on for a new BBC drama from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
Titled SAS: Rogue Heroes, the series will be based on Ben Macintyre’s best-selling novel of the same name and tells the story of how the Special Forces unit (SAS) was formed during World War Two.
Swindells will play SAS founder David Stirling alongside Game of Thrones star Alfie Allen, Skins alum Jack O’Connell and Modern Love’s Sofia Boutella who will play Stirling’s first recruits.
Speaking about his casting, Swindells said (via Radio Times): “I feel tremendously honoured to be joining this series with such a talented group of people. Portraying such an interesting man is incredibly exciting and I feel very lucky to be able to do so. It’s going to be an amazing ride.”
O’Connell added: “I’m excited to be working on Steven Knight’s bold and ambitious new project with a brilliant director and fellow cast members. Playing the legend Paddy Mayne is an honour. I can’t wait to get stuck into the challenge of telling this story.”
Knight also spoke about the “conscious decision” he made to cast young people to tell the subject’s stories.
“I’m really excited to be gathering together the very best of a new generation of British and International talent to tell this remarkable story,” he said.
“The people who are depicted and who did such extraordinary things were young, in their 20s, and we have made a conscious decision to cast people of the same age. We enter this project with a spirit of adventure and believe our young and talented actors will do justice to this period of history.”
Filming is currently underway on SAS: Rogue Heroes but no release date has been set.
Source: digitalspy.com