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Andrew Scott returns to screens in a new film, Elsinore, playing the late actor Ian Charleson in a role that intersects with his own theatrical life. The project examines Charleson’s final months as he prepared to play Hamlet while living with AIDS.
Cast and close connections
Andrew Scott, known for projects including the film Pressure, leads an ensemble that features Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Luke Thompson, Peter Mullan and a wide supporting cast. Scott has described the part as deeply personal, telling the Hollywood Reporter it is “so much about everything in my life — I’ve spent my life in the theatre.”
He also reflected on what it means to take on a role his predecessors would likely have been denied. “And being a gay actor, it’s still so moving to me that I get the opportunity to play a part that Ian and his contemporaries would not have gotten while they were working actors,” he said.
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What the film shows
Elsinore follows Charleson in the months leading up to his celebrated but terminally ill performance as Hamlet at London’s National Theatre. Charleson stepped into the role after Daniel Day‑Lewis withdrew, and he died of AIDS two months after the run began, aged 40.
Scott has said the film aims to show Charleson trying to live, rather than to dwell on his death. “I wanted people to be able to understand that he was trying to live — it’s not about fetishising his death. He was so full of life and fun, and he did this extraordinary thing,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.
Preparation and personal stakes
Taking on Charleson required physical and emotional commitment. Scott lost a significant amount of weight to convey the actor’s illness and has described the work as a way to process his own grief after his mother’s passing.
“My mom was my biggest supporter. I feel like when you’re doing something for somebody else, and you’ve got nothing to lose, it brings something out. I really wanted to get it right,” he said.
The film grew out of long conversations between Scott, director Simon Stone and screenwriter Stephen Beresford, who reportedly exchanged ideas in a WhatsApp group while shaping the project.
Why it matters
The story revisits a pivotal moment in British theatre history and raises questions about representation, illness and the costs of performance. For Scott — himself a gay actor who has played Hamlet around 150 times — the role offers both professional challenge and personal resonance.
When you can see it
Elsinore is scheduled for release in Ireland on 29 January 2027. A trailer is available ahead of the film’s opening.
