King Lear (2008 film)

King Lear is a 2008 television film based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name, directed by Trevor Nunn. It was broadcast on More4 in the UK on Christmas Day, and shown on PBS' Great Performances in the United States in March 2009. The production was filmed mainly at Pinewood Studios in England.

It features the same cast and director as the 2007 RSC production, and started filming only a few days after the final performance at the New London Theatre, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. The film was released on DVD in the UK and then in the US on 21 April 2009. It was shown on Channel 4 on 26 December 2008, as well as being broadcast on PBS in 2009 and a number of other TV stations internationally, including NHK Japan.

Cast

 * Ian McKellen – King Lear
 * Romola Garai – Cordelia
 * William Gaunt – Earl of Gloucester
 * Jonathan Hyde – Earl of Kent
 * Philip Winchester – Edmund
 * Sylvester McCoy – The Fool


 * Frances Barber – Goneril
 * Monica Dolan – Regan
 * David Weston – A Gentleman
 * Guy Williams – Duke of Cornwall


 * Seymour Matthews – Curan
 * John Heffernan – Oswald


 * Ben Meyjes – Edgar
 * Julian Harries – Duke of Albany
 * Naomi Capron – Maid
 * Kieran Bew – Soldier
 * Peter Hinton- Duke of Burgundy
 * Ben Addis – King of France

Crew

 * Director – Trevor Nunn
 * Producer – Richard Price


 * Line Producer – Andy Picheta
 * Cinematographer – Paul Wheeler

Production history
King Lear started filming only a few days after the final stage performance on 12 January 2008. Filming at Pinewood Studios lasted for around a month.

Whilst McKellen appeared fully nude in the original production, PBS would not allow this on screen, so he appeared only partially nude in the televised production.