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EXCLUSIVE: Rhys Ifans (Spider-Man: No Way Home) has signed on to star alongside Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in the Netflix film Nyad, which marks the narrative directorial debut of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (The Rescue, Free Solo).
Pic is based on Diana Nyad’s bestselling autobiography Find A Way. It follows the remarkable true story of the marathon swimmer, who, at the age of 64, became the first person to complete the “Everest of swims”—executing a 53-hour, 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida, through dangerous open ocean, without a shark cage.
Ifans is playing John Bartlett, the Florida-based boat designer and captain of the catamaran that accompanied Diana as she swam. Bartlett strategically and meticulously planned and navigated Nyad’s swim though the Florida Straits, keenly aware of the impact of weather and ocean currents on her journey.
Emmy winner Ann Biderman (Ray Donovan) and Black List scribe Julia Cox (Do No Harm) adapted the script. Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar (American Sniper) and Black Bear Pictures’ Teddy Schwarzman (I Care a Lot, The Imitation Game) are producing, with production underway.
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Ifans is a BAFTA Award winner who was most recently seen in Matthew Vaughn’s Disney spy film The King’s Man and Jon Watts’ Sony box office smash Spider-Man: No Way Home. The actor will next appear in Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon on HBO. He’s also previously featured in such series as Temple, Berlin Station and Elementary. Additional film credits include Official Secrets, Snowden, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Len and Company, She’s Funny That Way, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Five-Year Engagement, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Nanny McPhee Returns, Greenberg, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Hannibal Rising and Notting Hill.
Ifans is represented by Gersh, 42 in London and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.