A month ago Academy Award winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) dropped out of Paul King’s adaptation of the beloved children’s book Paddington, saying that he no longer felt that his voice fit the part. His departure came just a few months before the iconic British bear’s winter release date, meaning King and co. needed to find a new voice actor quickly.
According to The Daily Mail, they’ve found their replacement: Skyfall and Cloud Atlas actor Ben Whishaw.
Producer David Heyman noted that Firth’s voice was “ultimately, too mature” for the part of Paddington, so Whishaw, who’s twenty years younger than Firth, should fit the bill nicely.
Whishaw told the Daily Mail that he had “no relationship to Paddington whatsoever” before being asked “quite out of the blue” to audition for the part, but in the grand scheme of things that’s not that big a deal for a role like this.
Whishaw joins an all-star cast in Paddington, which includes Nicole Kidman (Grace of Monaco), Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, The Thick of It), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), Sally Hawkins (Godzilla, Blue Jasmine), Julie Walters (Brave, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) and Jim Broadbent (Cloud Atlas, The Iron Lady).
Paddington starts his theater adventure in the UK on November 28th, before heading to the United States on Christmas Day.
Originally published July 18, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
