Iconic British singer Morrissey bio, “Steven” adds cast

PanARMENIAN.Net - Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown Findlay has joined the cast of Steven, the Mark Gill-directed biopic of iconic British singer Morrissey. Findlay stars opposite Jack Lowden in the lead role, which follows the character from his early life in the 1970’s before he went on to become the lead singer in seminal 1980’s band The Smiths. She will play Linder Sterling, an English visual artist, performance artist and musician from Liverpool, who became a close friend of Morrissey, Deadline reports.

Gill and William Thacker have written the script, his collaborator on the 2014 Oscar-nominated short The Voorman Problem. HanWay is handling sales on the project which starts principle photography in April. Entertainment One has taken UK rights.

Now known only as Morrissey (and sometimes dubbed the “Pope of Mope”), the Manchester native Steven Patrick Morrissey founded The Smiths with Johnny Marr in 1982. Steven will chart Morrissey’s years immediately before the formation of the band, and shine a light on how an awkward teenager escaped a dead-end existence to build a legendary songwriting partnership with Marr. The Smiths sold millions of records worldwide with such seminal singles as “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “Girlfriend In A Coma,” “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want,” “Reel Around The Fountain,” “This Charming Man” and “William, It Was Really Nothing.” The group broke up in 1987 and Morrissey went on to a successful solo career.

Orian Williams (Control) and Gill’s Voorman Problem partner Baldwin Li are producing.

Jessica Brown Findlay has established herself as one of the UK’s most exciting young actresses. Aside from her turn as Lady Sybil Branson in Julian Fellowes’ rating juggernaut Downton Abbey, her credits include The Riot Club, Jamaica Inn and The Outcast. She plays the lead in Simon Abboud’s forthcoming This Beautiful Fantastic opposite Andrew Scott, Jeremy Irvine and Tom Wilkinson.