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Liam Neeson to join A-Team
The Irish actor is in talks to play crack squad leader Hannibal in the film remake of the 80s hit television show
Irish actor Liam Neeson looks set to star in the film version of the cult 1980s TV series, The A-Team. According to Variety, Neeson has been offered the role of Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith, the cigar-chomping leader of the four 'heroes for hire'. Originally played by George Peppard, who died from cancer in 1994, Hannibal's catchphrase was "I love it when a plan comes together".
Neeson, whose wife Natasha Richardson died following a freak ski accident in March, recently finished filming Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s film Chloe - a version of the French film Nathalie - and a remake of the 1981 film Clash of the Titans, in which he plays Zeus. Neeson topped the US box office earlier this year as the lead in Luc Besson's action thriller, Taken (pictured).
Gladiator director Ridley Scott and his brother Tony will produce the 20th Century Fox film, which is due to start filming in August. Bradley Cooper, the star of recent comedies The Hangover and He’s Just Not That Into You, has been approached to play the heartthrob role of Lieutenant Templeton 'Faceman' Peck. The roles of Capt HM 'Howling Mad' Murdock and Sgt Bosco 'BA' Baracus are yet to be cast. One name linked to the role of BA Baracus - originally played by the pro wrestler turned actor Mr T - is the Chicago rapper Common.
Spanning five seasons and nearly 100 episodes from 1983 to 1986, The A-Team followed the fortunes of a group of US Army Special Forces soldiers wrongly convicted of a crime who escape military prison to become do-gooder mercenaries.
Stephen J Cannell, who created the original show and is co-producing the film with the Scotts, wants Mr T to have a cameo role in the remake. "I always think it's nice to see the stars of the old show in cameo roles in the movie. But obviously he won't be playing BA Baracus." ·
