Bravo! and CTV announce today the addition of renowned stage actor Sir Derek Jacobi to the highly anticipated series THE BORGIAS. Jacobi is signed on to play Cardinal Orsini in the first two episodes, set to premiere in 2011 on Bravo! and CTV in Canada and Showtime Networks Inc. in the U.S. Also joining the cast are David Oakes as Juan Borgia and Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia Borgia. The new cast members join distinguished actors Colm Feore (FLASHPOINT, 24), Jeremy Irons (Kingdom of Heaven, Being Julia), and up-and-coming Canadian actor François Arnaud (I Killed My Mother, YAMASKA) in the series.
THE BORGIAS revolves around a powerful and corrupt 15th-century Italian family headed by patriarch Rodrigo Borgia (Irons), who became Pope in 1492. Feore plays Rodrigo’s arch nemesis Cardinal Giuliano Della Rovere and Arnaud is cast as Cesare Borgia, Rodrigo’s ruthless son. Production is slated to begin in Hungary this summer.
Jacobi is a pre-eminent classical actor whose impressive body of work spans theatre, film and television. He has appeared in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, Oedipus the King and received a Tony Award® for his performance in Much Ado About Nothing. Jacobi has also enjoyed a successful television career, appearing in the critically praised adaptation I, CLAUDIUS, for which he won a BAFTA, the acclaimed medieval drama series BROTHER CADFAEL and THE GATHERING STORM.
Jacobi has appeared in countless films such as Henry V, Gladiator, Gosford Park, The Golden Compass and Hippie Hippie Shake.
British actors Oakes and Grainger have signed on to play brother and sister in THE BORGIAS. No stranger to period drama, Oakes television credits include HENRY VIII: MIND OF A TYRANT. He also stars in the long-awaited miniseries, THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH this summer. Grainger’s long list of movie and television credits include The Scouting Book For Boys, Jane Eyre, ROBIN HOOD and Season 1 of CTV’s MERLIN respectively. She has also been tapped to join Robert Pattison, Cristina Ricci, and Uma Thurman in the feature film Bon Ami, due out in 2011.
THE BORGIAS is produced by Take 5 Productions in association with Bravo!, CTV and Showtime Networks.
