The star of Paul Verhoeven's undervalued "Black Book," Carice Van Houten, was tipped for big things after that film bowed in 2006. The actress picked up Hollywood roles in "Valkyrie" and "Repo Men" but neither role was particularly rewarding, and she had a quiet few years after. But the Dutch star (who has a side career in the music industry) picked up a prominent role as sorceress Melisandre in HBO's "Game Of Thrones" (she'll be returning to the show for the third season when it debuts in March), and now she's landed a role in another big Hollywood picture.
According to Variety, Van Houten has signed on to join the untitled Wikileaks movie that's gearing up over at DreamWorks, to be directed by "Gods and Monsters" and "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" director Bill Condon. The film, penned by Josh Singer, stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange, Daniel Bruhl as his now-estranged right-hand man Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and "Anna Karenina" breakout Alicia Vikander as Domscheit-Berg's co-worked and girlfriend.
Van Houten plays Birgitta Jonsdottir, an Icelandic journalist who became spokesman for the website, and has gone on to be a MP in her home country. Interestingly, there's no mention in Variety's report of "Downton Abbey" star Dan Stevens, who was previously said to be on board, to play Guardian journalist Ian Katz. An oversight? Or has Stevens dropped out of the project? Either way, Condon will get underway on filming soon, and DreamWorks are likely to be targeting a fall release to get Cumberbatch into the Oscar race.