Matt Smith will star in and executive produce a new six-part adaptation of Nick Cave's shocking drug and sex-fuelled 2009 novel, The Death of Bunny Munro.
The BAFTA and Emmy-nominated actor, who is best known for playing Doctor Who, Prince Philip in The Crown, and Prince Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon, will be transforming into another complicated character: Bunny, a misogynistic middle-aged salesman who goes on a road trip around Sussex with his son after his wife takes her own life.
Their increasingly chaotic journey is intensified by the fact that a serial killer is also on the move, heading towards Brighton.
“Finally, someone with the courage to take on this unholy tale," said Cave. "I am thrilled that Sky and Clerkenwell Films are bringing Bunny to life, in all his flawed glory, and I can think of nobody better than Matt Smith to play him."
Smith said: "To work alongside Nick Cave on The Death of Bunny Munro feels like a great honour. It’s a brilliant exploration of love, grief, and chaos. At its heart a deep, difficult, and tender story about a father and son, coping with loss and change."
The book, which was described by reviewers as a "sad, scuzzily hysterical tale" and "sick and funny" is about as raucous as a novel can get: Bunny, who was described by one critics as "an antihero of epic proportions, a booze-addled, nicotine-stained, cocaine-fuelled monster constantly in search of priapic adventure", is obsessed with Avril Lavigne and Kylie Minogue (the latter worked with Cave on the 1996 song, Where the Wild Roses Grow), constantly imagining both celebrities in profane situations.
BAFTA-winning writer, Pete Jackson, who wrote the hit series Somewhere Boy, will be rising to the challenge of adapting the book for the screen, while the series will be produced by Clerkenwell Films (Misfits, The End of the F***ing World) in association with Sky Studios. The series, which is going to start filming in Spring 2024, will be directed by Isabella Eklöf, who wrote the Oscar-nominated, Un Certain regard-winning Swedish fantasy film Border.“We’re so excited to be working with Pete, Matt, Nick, Isabella and Sky on The Death of Bunny Munro, a timely tale about masculinity, dark and twisted but also full of humour and humanity. Pete’s scripts brilliantly capture Nick’s creation, and we can’t wait to see Matt bring this singular anti-hero to life," said Petra Fried, Managing Director of Clerkenwell Films.
