Jason Isaacs to Portray Cary Grant in BritBox Biopic ‘Archie’

Hollywood icon Cary Grant is set to be brought to life by Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs in an upcoming biographical drama from ITV and BritBox International.

According to Deadline, the four-part series will be titled Archie, after Grant’s birthname Archibald Alexander Leach. It will be written and executive produced by Stan & Ollie writer Jeff Pope and produced by ITV Studios for the network’s soon-to-launch streamer ITVX.

Archie will trace Grant’s journey to superstardom, starting with a childhood spent in extreme poverty in Bristol, England, where he had to deal with his father’s adultery and the death of his older brother, John. It will follow Grant as he joined the music hall act The Bob Pender Troupe before moving to the U.S., where he transformed into Cary Grant, becoming an Oscar-nominated leading man and the star of over 70 films.

“There was only one Cary Grant, and I’d never be foolish enough to try to step into his iconic shoes,” said Isaacs (via Deadline). “Archie Leach, on the other hand, couldn’t be further from the character he invented to save himself.”

While highlighting his early years and rise to fame, the series will also include scenes from 1961, at the height of Grant’s celebrity, when his private life was falling apart after two failed marriages. However, he would eventually woo TV star Dyan Cannon, who was 30 years younger than him, and the pair married in 1965. Grant retired from film acting one year later.

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“Cary Grant became one of the most iconic figures of the twentieth century, beloved by presidents and paupers,” stated Pope. “The key to everything lay in his childhood.” Pope received the blessing of Grant’s daughter Jennifer Grant and former wife Cannon, who described the script as “intelligent, understanding” and “capturing [Grant] so brilliantly.”

Archie, TBA, BritBox International