Ritesh Sharma
Simon Callow is returning to the director’s chair after more than three decades! The Cinemaholic has learned that the English actor-filmmaker is set to helm ‘About a Bell’ next. The project will enter production in May 2025 in South Wales, United Kingdom. Derek Lister wrote the screenplay. The cast includes Christopher Eccleston, Omid Djalili, and Viola Prettejohn. The plot revolves around Sami, a Syrian refugee, and Bryony, a young librarian, who come together on a deeply personal mission—to preserve a bell from a torn-down church.
The movie is Callow’s first feature film as a director since 1991. He made his directorial debut with ‘The Ballad of the Sad Café,’ starring Vanessa Redgrave and Keith Carradine. As a writer, he has been relatively inactive, with his most recent screenplay being the 2018 one-man televisual extravaganza ‘A Christmas Carol,’ narrated by the actor himself. Prior to that, he wrote the screenplay for ‘Orson Welles Over Europe,’ in which he appeared as the presenter.
Callow is also a celebrated author, having written biographies on Oscar Wilde, Richard Wagner, Charles Laughton, and Orson Welles. He further compiled ‘Shakespeare on Love,’ an anthology of Shakespearean excerpts, and contributed to Cambridge’s ‘Actors on Shakespeare’ series.
Regarding his acting career, Callow was part of the cast of the Academy Award-winning period drama ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ portraying Sir Edmund Tilney, Master of the Revels, alongside Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. His other notable credits include Emanuel Schikaneder in ‘Amadeus,’ Reverend Mr. Beebe in ‘A Room with a View,’ Gareth in ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral,’ and Gilles André in ‘The Phantom of the Opera.’ Callow also played the character of Codringher in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher.’
Callow’s most recent projects include ‘The Holiday List,’ in which he played Samuel alongside Brittany Snow and Lucas Bravo. He also appeared as Cozimo in the Irish TV series ‘The Boy That Never Was,’ starring Colin Morgan and Toni O’Rourke. His upcoming acting projects include Naomi Scott and Kit Harington-starrer ‘Eternal Return’ and the Prime Video series ‘Étoile.’
Known for portraying the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series ‘Doctor Who,’ Christopher Eccleston most recently starred in ‘True Detective’ as Captain Ted Connelly. We also know him as Malekith from ‘Thor: The Dark World,’ Nipper Read from ‘Legend,’ and Jabez Wolffe from ‘Young Woman and the Sea.’
Omid Djalili’s latest acting credit was Melchior in Adam Anders’ ‘Journey to Bethlehem.’ In Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan’s ‘Love Again,’ Omid Djalili played Mohsen. His other notable credits include Steve in Channel 4’s ‘The Change,’ Dr Martin Lanselius in HBO’s ‘His Dark Materials,’ and Cavalier in ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.’
Viola Prettejohn has made a mark in television, having played Mary Fitzroy in ‘Wolf Hall,’ Finn in ‘Generation Z,’ and Myrtle Haplisch in ‘The Nevers.’
South Wales recently served as a backdrop for several notable productions. In 2023, Michael Sheen shot ‘The Way’ extensively in Port Talbot, Swansea, and Abergavenny. Additionally, the upcoming Disney+ series ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’ filmed scenes in Barry and Atlantic Wharf in 2024.
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