Actor Lucy Boynton has been roped in to play Marie Antoinette in the upcoming biopic Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The film stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the titular role. Written by Stefani Robinson, the biopic will be helmed by Watchmen director Stephen Williams. Samara Weaving also recently joined the cast.
de Saint-Georges, born in 1745 in the French Caribbean, was the illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner. He rose to improbable heights in French society, dazzling as a violinist, a composer and a champion fencer. However, an ill-fated love affair with a French noblewoman and a falling out with Marie Antoinette and her court led to his untimely downfall.
Chevalier de Saint-Georges will be produced by Element Pictures, Robinson and Dianne McGunigle. Boynton is best known for her breakout role opposite Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody. She recently wrapped production on The Ipcress File, and will soon star in Hugh Laurie’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? She will also be seen as Marianne Faithfull in Faithfull, a biopic about the iconic rock singer’s rise to fame during the British Invasion.