Ruth Wilson(The Affair) andAndrew Scott(Fleabag) are set to star in the HBO original movieOslo, which boastsSteven Spielbergas an executive producer.
Bartlett Sherwill direct from a script by fellow Tony Award winnerJ.T. Rogers, who also wrote the acclaimed stage play of the same name. The film is based on a true story about the negotiations between implacable enemies – the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
Wilson will star as Mona Juul, a Norwegian foreign minister, while Scott will play her husband, Norwegian sociologist Terje Rød-Larsen. The supporting cast includesSalim Dau(Fauda) as Ahmed Qurie, Finance Minister of the PLO;Waleed Zuaiter(The Spy) as Hassan Asfour, Qurie’s associate & PLO liaison;Jeff Wilbusch(Unorthodox) as Uri Savir, Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry;Igal Naor(Fauda) as Joel Singer, legal adviser to the Israeli Foreign Ministry;Dov Glickman(Shtisel) as Yair Hirschfield, Israeli Professor of Economics;Rotem Keinan(Fauda) as Ron Pundak, Hirschfield’s associate and fellow Israeli professor;Itzik Cohen(Fauda) as Yossi Beilin, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister;Tobias Zilliacus(Thicker Than Water) as Jan Egeland, Norwegian State Secretary; andSasson Gabai(Stockholm) as Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister of the State of Israel.
Spielberg will executive produce alongside Emmy winnerMarc Platt(Bridge of Spies),Kristie Macosko Krieger(The Post) of DreamWorks, andDavid Litvakof Bold Films. Sher and Rogers will serve as co-executive producers along withCambra Overend.Mark Taylorwill produceOsloalongsideJared LeBoffandAdam Siegel of Marc Platt Productions, as well asMichel Litvak,Gary Michael WaltersandSvetlana Metkinaof Bold Films.
“In collaboration with Steven, Kristie, Marc, and Bold Films, we’re delighted to work with J.T. and Bartlett to adapt their inspiring Tony Award-winning story for the screen,” said HBO’sTara Grace. “Recounting the remarkable feat of two diametrically opposed sides coming together to find common ground,Oslo’s themes are especially pertinent, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have so many revered artisans on both sides of the camera working together to bring this to life.”
“My memory of seeingOsloon the stage for the first time is still so vivid. I felt then what I feel now – this is a powerful and necessary story for our times,” added Kristie Macosko Krieger.
Filming has already begun in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and will continue this fall in Prague, Czech Republic.Oslowill debut on HBO and HBO Max sometime next year, but you won’t have to wait that long to see Wilson on the network, as she’s due back for Season 2 ofHis Dark Materials.Click hereto find out when that big-budget series returns to HBO.
