Actress Hayley Atwell attended the Disney ABC Television Group TCA Summer Press Tour on August 4, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Mike Windle)
"Agent Carter" actress Hayley Atwell has been tapped to star in the BBC and Starz limited series "Howards End." She has found her next role.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Atwell will play Margaret Schlegel in "Howards End." Joining her stars "Ripper Street" actor Matthew Macfadyen is set to play Henry Wilcox and "Tracey Ullman's Show" host Tracey Ullman as Aunt Juley Mund.
"White Girl" helmer Hettie Macdonald will direct the four-part series "Howards End" with Starz and BBC to co-produce, Deadline reported. BBC One originally greenlighted the series in December 2015. Playground is executive producing in association with City Entertainment and KippSter Entertainment.
"Howards End" is based on the classic E.M. Forster novel of the same name with Oscar-nominated "Manchester by the Sea" screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan penning the TV adaptation. It explores the changing landscape of social and class divisions in turn-of-the-century England through the prism of three families, namely, the intellectual and idealistic Schlegels, the wealthy Wilcoxes from the world of business, and the working-class Basts.
The book "Howards End" was published by Foster in 1910. It was previously adapted for the big screen in 1992, starring Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Bonham Carter, and Emma Thompson. The James Ivory-directed film won three Oscars, including a best actress performance for Thompson in the leading role.
The executive producers of "Howards End" include Playground's Colin Callender ("Wolf Hall"), City Entertainment's Joshua D. Maurer ("Papillon") and Alixandre Witlin ("The Last Tycoon"), and KippSter Entertainment's David A. Stern ("The Last Tycoon") alongside Playground's Sophie Gardiner ("Eureka Street") and Scott Huff ("The Missing") and Lucy Richer for the BBC. "Hunger" producer Laura Hastings-Smith is producing.
Atwell's casting in "Howards End" comes after the ABC legal drama "Conviction," which ended in January after moving from Mondays to Sundays. Her other roles include "Agent Carter" for ABC and the Marvel's first "Captain America" film "Captain America: The First Avenger," starring Chris Evans.
"Howards End" will film in and around London. It will air on BBC One in the UK and Starz in the U.S. Starz's senior vice president of original programming Karen Bailey will serve as the executive in charge the network.
Watch the video about Hayley Atwell starring in the adaptation of "Howards End":
