LONDON (Reuters) – British centenarian and charity star Captain Tom Moore, who raised millions of pounds for the health service by walking laps of his garden during lockdown, has signed a deal to film a biopic of his life, he and the producers said on Wednesday.
The film, to be shot next year, will be made by Britain’s Fred Films and Powder Keg Pictures, whose credits include “Fisherman’s Friends”, about a group of Cornish fishermen who signed a record deal, they said in a joint statement.
“This is a story about the power of the human spirit and Captain Sir Tom personifies that,” said Fred Films’ James Spring and Powder Keg’s Nick Moorcroft.
Moore joked: “I don’t know of any 100-year-old actors, but I’m sure Michael Caine or Anthony Hopkins could do a wonderful job if they were prepared to age up!”
The World War Two veteran made headlines in April by walking laps of his garden in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, raising 39 million pounds ($50 million) for the National Health Service.
He broke two Guinness world records and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, but he has not rested on his laurels. He scored a No. 1 single, wrote an autobiography and is helping to set up a charity.
“We received so many offers but what it boiled down to was trust,” his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said in the statement.
“The family are big fans of the films James, Meg (Leonard) and Nick have written and produced and we hope that our story connects with audiences in the same way their previous films have done.”
The film will dramatise how Moore’s personal grief and horror of war shaped his life and inspired him to keep walking, the producers said.
“At a time of fear and uncertainty, 161 countries around the world embraced the beacon of hope that Captain Sir Tom provided,” Spring said.
(Writing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
