Joseph Fiennes, a BAFTA nominee for the 1998 Shakespeare in Love, will play the role of Scottish runner and devout Christian Eric Liddell in The Last Race, sort of a sequel to the 1981 Oscar winner Chariots of Fire.
Liddell’s feats as an athlete, and his rivalry with Harold Abrahams, were immortalized in “Chariots of Fire,” which won four Oscars, including best picture.
“The Last Race” portrays Liddell’s life after the events depicted in “Chariots of Fire,” when he worked as a teacher and missionary in China, the Independent reported. He was interned by the Japanese in 1943, and died in the prison camp of a brain tumor.
The film is written and directed by Stephen Shin, and co-directed by Michael Parker.
It also stars Chinese-Canadian actor Xiao “Shawn” Dou, who plays Liddell’s friend Xu Niu, and British actress Elizabeth Arends. It will be distributed in China by Alibaba Pictures.
