Speaking at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, Hugo Weaving revealed he will reprise his role as Frank Harkness in Season 5 of “Slow Horses,” returning to London in January for a two-and-a-half month shoot.
“Each season generally is a book, but also each season departs a little bit from those books,” Weaving said. “We’re getting to the point with ‘Slow Horses’ where the seasons are catching up to the amount of books that [Mick] Herron has written.”
The actor also provided an update on the developing sequel to 1994’s “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” “I was texting the director [Stephan Elliott] this morning. I’ve got another script to read. I’ve read about five drafts,” Weaving said. “It’s slowly getting closer to perhaps happening next year. Still lots of things to finalize, but it’s looking promising.”
While Weaving is globally recognized for “The Matrix” franchise, in India he remains widely known for his portrayal of England cricket captain Douglas Jardine in the 1984 television series “Bodyline.” “I know how big ‘Bodyline’ was. It was huge in Australia, too,” Weaving said. “It was at the time where you could put something on television, and 50-60% of the nation would actually watch that one program. And that doesn’t happen anymore.” He added with humor about his role as the controversial cricket figure, “He’s probably one of the greatest villains in world sporting history.”
Weaving was in Goa to present “The Rooster,” an Australian thriller directed by Mark Leonard Winter, in which he plays a hermit who may hold answers about a buried body discovered by a small-town cop.
Hugo Weaving in ‘The Rooster’
Everett Collection
Winter wrote the role specifically for the veteran performer. “When I thought, ‘I’m going to try and write a script,’ I started writing the role for Hugo, because that would have been my dream to work with him,” Winter said. “Having being able to say to people that Hugo was going to come and act in it legitimized our project.”
Of his decision to join the project, Weaving said it was “a very wonderful character written, and I loved the idea of the film as well. It was really Mark, the man, and Mark’s writing brought me to the film.”
The film was shot at Winter’s house in Victoria, Australia. Australia is the country of focus at this year’s IFFI. While at IFFI, both Winter and Weaving expressed interest in potential future collaborations with Indian filmmakers, and Weaving revealed ongoing discussions with Anand Gandhi. As for Winter, he said he has completed a first draft of a vampire film as his next directorial project.
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