“Lawless” star Tom Hardy to topline “Samarkand” project

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tom Hardy wants to play a British soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in “Samarkand,” a project the actor is developing with Solar Pictures and Greg and Olly Williams, TheWrap reported.

The Wiliams brothers have written a draft of the screenplay, which revolves around a young Special Air Service soldier returning from duty in the Middle East. He struggles to acclimate to regular society after this service, a condition afflicting innumerable soldiers and an issue that has faced heightened scrutiny over the past few decades.

Photographer Greg Williams, who directed Hardy in his short “Sergeant Slaughter – My Big Brother,” will direct “Samarkand.” He began his career as a war photographer and has since worked for magazines including GQ and Esquire, shot campaigns for films like “Casino Royale” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” and done portraits of a litany of celebrities.

Solar Pictures is the film financing and production arm of Bobby Paunescu and Jared Underwood’s Solar Entertainment Group.

There is no exact timetable on the project, but Hardy recently finished “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and will next film “Animal Rescue” for Fox Searchlight. He is also attached to star in Doug Liman’s “Everest,” Daniel Epinosa’s “Child 44” and Steven Knight’s “Locke.”