Emma Thompson, Anna Friel, Christopher Eccleston, Julian Ovenden and Rebecca Root have joined the cast of feature film “Hear Me Roar,” a drama about a groundbreaking British trans marriage case.
The script is co-written by Lisa McMullin and Ashley Bayston, whose story it tells. The feature will be directed by Amy Coop and produced by Darren Stuart and David Nichols.
“Hear Me Roar” tells the story of a transgender woman who, in 2000, took on the British government in a lengthy legal battle which would change the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the U.K.
Elizabeth (Liz) Bellinger married her husband Michael at Southwark register office in South London in 1981, one of the few transgender people in Britain who had gone through a marriage ceremony. For nearly 20 years only her husband knew her secret, however in 1998 she launched a campaign to have her marriage legally recognized and in 2000 the case went to court.
The drama starts with Elizabeth’s meeting with lawyer Bayston (who co-wrote the feature with lead writer McMullin), and it then follows the resulting complex legal obstacle course they undertook over the coming three years.
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Bellinger will be played by Root, whose credits include “The Queen’s Gambit” and “The Danish Girl,” and Friel will play Bayston.
Bayston said: “I can’t believe this is finally happening and that the story of Liz and my battle is to be told by such an amazing team of actors. We used to joke about a film being made some day but couldn’t imagine such young and glamorous actors portraying us. This story has to be told and these are exactly the right people to tell it.”
Thompson said: “I’m weeping like a baby, it’s so moving and powerful and funny. It’s a great story and script with wonderful characters – I just loved it and it moved me deeply. I think it’s both fascinating and profoundly meaningful and essential.”
Coop added: “It’s a privilege to be working with such a great team to tell this incredible story, an overlooked part of modern British history that represented a seismic shift for LGBTQ+ people.”
Stuart’s credits include “Capital Punishment” and the documentary “Stone By Stone”; Nichols’ credits include “Everest,” “The Tourist” and “William Tell.”