An iconic actor role ‘Papillon’ star admits to having butterflies

“Papillon,” just opened at Cedar Lee in Cleveland Heights, spotlights Hollywood’s perpetual love for high-profile remakes.

Labor Day weekend, Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born,” the fourth version of the heartbreaking Hollywood saga, premieres at the Venice Film Festival.

Cooper and Lady Gaga step into iconic roles — the alcoholic Hollywood star on a downslide and the unknown singer he loves who becomes a superstar — previously played in 1976 by Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand.

Greta Gerwig follows her hit 2017 directing debut “Lady Bird” by writing and directing a new version of “Little Women,” with Meryl Streep, Emma Stone and Saoirse Ronan. It’s due late next year.

“Papillon” — French for “butterfly” — is adapted from the memoirs of Devil’s Island prisoner turned escapee Henri Charriere and stars Charlie Hunnam (“Sons of Anarchy”) and Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot” and up next as Queen’s Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody”).

The 1973 “Papillon” had Steve McQueen, Golden Globe nominated as Charriere, and Dustin Hoffman as Louis Dega, his meek, intellectual prison pal.

Hunnam, 38, called the physically demanding “Papillon” “a lot of fun” and praised his “great” Danish director Michael Noer.

He also acknowledged contending with a film version that was critically praised and beloved.

“Obviously, we’re going to have to endure the inevitable, relentless comparison,” he said.

“But through the creative process, we never really felt beholden or as though we were making a remake. We always approached it as though it was an independent adaptation.”

Was he worried about stepping into Steve McQueen’s formidable shoes?

“No, there wasn’t that at all,” he began before correcting himself.

“That’s not true. Initially, I thought that it was maybe a lofty aspiration to be remaking such a beloved classic film with such an incredibly talented guy in the lead role. But ultimately it’s a true story. Henri Charriere was a real man. It’s a great amount of source material — but the more I started looking into that world, the greater the distance from that original

“Obviously, we’re going to have to endure the inevitable, relentless comparison. But through the creative process, we never really felt beholden or as though we were making a remake. We always approached it as though it was an independent adaptation.”

— Charlie Hunnam

film.

“Then through conversations with Michael Noer, who has a very different dramatic sensibility, it just started to feel as though the two films weren’t going to be connected at all.

“Other than sharing the source material — and the same name.”

BLEECKER STREET Charlie Hunnam appears in a scene from “Papillon.”

BLEECKER STREET Charlie Hunnam, left, and Rami Malek share a scene in “Papillon.”