Uma Thurman and Phoebe Dynevor to star as forbidden lovers in new drama

Uma Thurman and Phoebe Dynevor have been cast as “forbidden lovers” in the upcoming period drama titled ‘The Housekeeper’.

The film, inspired by Rose Tremain’s short story ‘The American’, will fictionalise the inspiration behind Daphne Du Maurier's renowned 1938 gothic novel ‘Rebecca’.

As ‘Gay Times’ writes, under the direction of Richard Eyre, the narrative centres on Danni, played by Thurman, who works as a housekeeper at the historic Manderville Hall in Cornwall, England, managed by the affluent and widowed Lord DeWithers, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. According to Variety, Danni “falls prey to the glance” of Du Maurier, a young, beautiful novelist.

In Tremain’s story, the housekeeper is stunned to realise she was the inspiration for the villainous Mrs. Danvers character in Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’.

Eyre commented in a statement that the source material “grapples with love, fear, fiction, desire, ambition, death and legacy,” while offering the complexity of nuanced characters and unpredictable shifts in audience sympathy.

He added, “The cast and I hold in our palm a story as rich and turbulent as the landscape that it inhabits, with Manderville Hall holding secrets and emotional intrigue within its historic walls.”

‘The Housekeeper’ is being launched at the American Film Market (AFM) by Embankment Films.

Hugo Grumbar, a partner and co-founder of the production company, praised Eyre, known for classics like ‘Iris’ (2001) and ‘Notes on a Scandal’ (2005), as a “master storyteller whose films elicit award-winning performances.”

He noted, “Beyond the magnetism of its romance, The Housekeeper brims with inventive twists and turns of desire and deceit, and mirrors today’s challenge to find purpose and identity.”

Throughout her career, Thurman has been acclaimed for her performances in iconic films such as ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988) and ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994), for which she received an Academy Award nomination, as well as ‘Kill Bill: Vol 1 and 2’ (2003, 2004).

More recently, she portrayed the President of the United States in Prime Video’s ‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ (2023). Praised as an instant LGBTQIA+ classic, the rom-com is confirmed for a sequel, and though Thurman has yet to be officially confirmed, she is anticipated to reprise her role.

Dynevor gained international recognition with the first season of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’ (2020) and has since appeared in the biographical drama ‘The Colour Room’ (2021) and the erotic psychological thriller ‘Fair Play’ (2023).