Even though they may not have worked together yet on the big screen, Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace seem to already be good pals. The pair were on the cover of Blag magazine (see above), did some promo for it as well this year and seemed to have a blast (just do some Google searches). And now, we may see two of our favorite folks working together, in a very promising project.
Deadline reports that Rapace has been offered the female lead in "Animal Rescue," a project that Hardy is in talks to star in. "Bullhead" helmer Michael Roskam will direct the film that's based on a short story by Dennis Lehane ("Mystic River," "Gone Baby Gone") about a lonely New York bartender, caught in the midst of a conspiracy at the mob-controlled bar where he works, who rescues a puppy from a garbage can and becomes the target of the dog's abusive and mentally unstable former owner. Rapace would play the female lead, but no other details are given. Should it all come together, the Fox Searchlight project would shoot in March, and you already had us at Hardy and Rapace.
Meanwhile, according to Variety the two new besties are also being eyed for "Child 44," the former Ridley Scott vehicle that he's still producing, that has been in development for years now. Last we heard, Daniel Espinosa ("Safe House," "Snabba Cash") would be directing the Cold War-era drama, based on the book by Tom Rob Smith and adapted by Richard Price ("The Wire," "Clockers"), about a disgraced MGB agent in the Stalin-era Soviet Union investigating a prolific child murderer who may have connections going to the very top of the party leadership. The story is based on the true account of the Rostov Ripper, a Ukranian serial killer who was executed for committing over 50 murders.
So we'll see if the latter comes to pass, but Hardy and Rapace plus puppies? Yes.