HISTORY CALLS FOR LESTER THE HUSTLER
ADRIAN LESTER pointed to Josie Rourke and said: ‘She set me free.’
To be honest, I had no idea what the awardwinning actor was on about.
We were at the annual party that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosts during the BFI London Film Festival.
This year, it was held in the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing.
Ms Rourke, the outgoing artistic chief of the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, has directed her first film: the muchanticipated Mary Queen Of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie (it’s due out in cinemas here on January 18).
She said it was ‘insane’ that Lester — best known for roles in TV series such as Hustle, Undercover and Trauma — had never made a period film. ‘He’s one of our best classical actors!’ she stormed.
As a director, she did something about it — and cast Lester in her movie as an ambassador to Scotland. ‘I wear the full costume. Made a change from a twopiece suit,’ Lester joked.
‘She set me free,’ he added, as we all admired the paintings that were the backdrop to Saturday night’s reception, attended by film stars including Nicole Kidman, Timothée Chalamet and Mahershala Ali, as well as Olivia Colman and Lester’s playwright wife, Lolita Chakrabarti.
Rourke will be leaving the Donmar next year to concentrate on making movies.