Hugh Laurie is currently in negotiations to play the main antagonist opposite George Clooney in the highly anticipated yet vaguely known about science-fiction film Tomorrowland, according to a recent report from The Guardian.
Back in November, George Clooney landed a role in a mysterious film called 1952, the only details known being that Brad Bird would direct and that Damon Lindelof, with Jeff Jensen, had penned the script. It has subsequently changed titles (to match a Disney theme park) and become even more elusive in terms of details. We do know the film will be Close Encounters of the Third Kind-esque in dealing with alien contact. That.. is about it.
Hugh Laurie is a man who really needs no introduction. Laurie has captured nearly everyone’s hearts and minds through the long running series House MD, which has rightly earned him various accolades and awards. That being said, it is difficult to name high profile film with Hugh Laurie as a main ingredient. Arguably, the closest he’s ever come to fitting that description happened in 2008’s Street Kings and 2011’s The Oranges — both rather forgettable.
Perhaps the only push Hugh Laurie needs is to get in touch with his bad side. The actor plays an ambivalent, drug-fueled doctor on television, so fully crossing over to the malicious and mean should not be difficult. While Laurie doesn’t have the same resume as his counterpart Clooney, should he take the job, it would be more than interesting to see him flex his range. After all, the ones we’re the most fond of make the best or most interesting villains — think Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mission: Impossible III or Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood.
While Hugh Laurie’s casting has yet to be officially confirmed, the idea of him working on screen with Clooney is quite enticing. Luckily, he has plenty of time to think it over as Tomorrowland is not due until December 2014. We’ll be sure to update you about the matter and all things concerning this mysterious film.
