Arts

War Horse star Jeremy Irvine cast as lead in new Stonewall riots film

Apr 10 2014
Written by Nick Duffy

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

Jeremy Irvine has been cast as the lead in a new film based on the Stonewall riots and the birth of the gay rights movement.

Irvine, 24, previously starred in the Oscar-nominated War Horse, and appeared last year in The Railway Man.

The British actor will play the lead in the film, which tells the story of a man’s political awakening, amid the backdrop of the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York.

Emmerich announced on his Facebook page earlier this week that he was due to shoot a film about Stonewall, declaring it “the birthplace of the modern Gay Rights movement”.

The film, written by Jon Robin Baitz, is set to begin shooting this Spring, although so far no release date has been announced.

Emmerich has wanted to make a film about the Stonewall riots for some time, telling Esquire last year: “I way want to do a little movie – about $12-14 million – about the Stonewall riots in New York. It’s about these crazy kids in New York and a country bumpkin who gets into their gang and they start this riot and change the world.”