Cast confirmed for Everybody's Talking About Jamie movie, with filming set to begin in Sheffield later this month

Richard E. Grant, Sharon Horgan and Sarah Lancashire are among the actors cast in the movie of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which will begin filming in Sheffield later this month.
Sharon Horgan; Richard E. Grant and Sarah Lancashire have all been cast in the Everyone Loves Jamie movie, which begins filming in Sheffield later this monthSharon Horgan; Richard E. Grant and Sarah Lancashire have all been cast in the Everyone Loves Jamie movie, which begins filming in Sheffield later this month
Sharon Horgan; Richard E. Grant and Sarah Lancashire have all been cast in the Everyone Loves Jamie movie, which begins filming in Sheffield later this month

The film follows on from the musical’s smash hit run in the West End, and tells the story of 16-year-old Jamie New who lives on a council estate in Sheffield and dreams of becoming a drag queen.

Film 4 has now confirmed that Grant – recently nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in Can You Ever Forgive Me, a movie about literary fraudster Lee Israel – will play Jamie’s mentor Hugo, also known as Loco Chanelle, a former drag queen.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sharon Horgan, writer and star of Channel 4 sitcom Catastrophe, takes the part of Jamie’s teacher Miss Hedge and Sarah Lancashire – of Last Tango In Halifax, Happy Valley and more – will appear as his mother, Margaret.

Shobna Gulati, from the London stage cast, will reprise her role of Ray.

Filming is set to begin in Sheffield on Monday, June 24.

Inspired by the BBC documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, the stage production originated at the Crucible, before it was picked up by Nimax Theatres and transferred to the capital, where it continues a highly-successful run with a refreshed cast.

The original team – director Jonathan Butterell, and writers Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom McRae – are all on board for the big-screen version.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is understood that John McCrea, who portrayed Jamie in Sheffield and initially in London, has been given a ‘significant cameo’ in the film, playing Loco Chanelle in a flashback sequence.

The film is being produced by Mark Herbert and Peter Carlton for Warp Films, and New Regency’s Arnon Milchan. Executive producers are Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer for New Regency and Daniel Battsek and Ollie Madden for Film4, who developed the project alongside Warp Films. The film will be released worldwide via 20th Century Fox.

After receiving over 3,000 applications from the open casting call, newcomer Max Harwood was cast in the title role. Harwood, a 21-year-old from Basingstoke is currently studying at Urdang Academy in London.

Following a year-long search for Jamie’s classmates, 20 young locals from Yorkshire and the surrounding regions have been cast.

Director of photography is Chris Ross, costumes are by Guy Speranza and hair and make-up is by Nadia Stacey, who won a BAFTA for The Favourite. Janey Levick is production designer.