Alan Rickman to join Colin Firth's 'Gambit'

Alan Rickman is close to joining the cast of Gambit, it has been revealed.

The Sweeney Todd actor is in talks to star alongside confirmed cast members Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in the crime picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Veteran actor Sir Tom Courtenay, who has appeared in Doctor Zhivago and The Dresser, has also signed for a role in the movie.

Gambit - penned by Joel and Ethan Coen and to be directed by The Last Station's Michael Hoffman - is a remake of 1966 caper starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine.

The film tells the story of a thief (Firth) whose plans to steal an expensive statue from a rich aristocrat (Rickman) go awry.

Filming on the project begins in London in May.

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