“Bates Motel” alumna Olivia Cooke is following in Reese Witherspoon’s footsteps: she’ll take on the role of Becky Sharp in an upcoming Amazon Studios and ITV adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s beloved novel “Vanity Fair.” According to Deadline, shooting for the seven-part drama kicks off in September. Gwyneth Hughes (“Dark Angel,” “The Girl”) penned the script.
Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, the series “follows Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society,” the source summarizes. “Her story of villainy, crime, merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing, cheating, fighting, and dancing, takes her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo, breaking hearts and losing fortunes along the way.”
Julia Stannard (“War & Peace”) will serve as producer, and James Strong (“Broadchurch”) is set to direct.
There have been a number of adaptations of the 1848 novel, with Witherspoon most recently taking on the role of Sharp in Mira Nair’s “Vanity Fair” in 2004.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” “Ouija,” and “The Signal” are among Cooke’s other credits. The British actress has a number of high-profile projects in the works, including Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller “Ready Player One,” “Life Itself,” an ensemble drama about intersecting lives from “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman, and “Gonzo Girl,” Rebecca Thomas’ adaptation of the Della Pietra book.
“Of course I’m a feminist, it would be ridiculous if I didn’t believe in equal rights for women and men,” Cooke has said. “My role models? My mum — my mum is my biggest role model.” When she was asked if she looked up to anyone in Hollywood, Cooke explained that she loves Kate Winslet’s work and lots of other actresses, “but I don’t want to be them,” she emphasized. “I just really want to be the best version of myself, I think. But I do like the trajectory of some people’s careers and things, but I think I am just trying to work out how to be an adult and figure out things about myself.”