Eileen to take Vanessa’s role in Robin Hood
DAME Eileen Atkins is set to replace Vanessa Redgrave in what was to be her first movie project since her daughter Natasha Richardson died following a skiing accident.
Vanessa, 72, signed up to play Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine in the Ridley Scott-directed blockbuster about Robin Hood, alongside A-listers Russell Crowe as Robin and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian.
But Dame Eileen, 74, confirmed that she has committed to the flick, saying that she’s finding the prospect “terrifying”.
“They keep rewriting the script and changing my lines quite dramatically, so I’m terrified of forgetting them,” she told us.
But she is looking forward to filming alongside Russell Crowe, who has shed the pounds to play the hero of Sherwood Forest.
“He was brilliant in Gladiator and he can be attractive – when he wants to be. There’s no vanity about him which I like.”
The actress, who recently starred in BBC’s Cranford, said she was also petrified of shooting an upcoming scene in which an owl lands on her arm as she has a “bird phobia”.
“I am completely bird phobic. It’s the same owl that appeared in Harry Potter and apparently it weighs as much as a dog. I have to feed it – probably dead mice – and I’m going to go to an animal sanctuary to help me get over my phobia. It’ll probably s**t on me, but then I suppose that’s good luck.”
Speaking at a fundraising lunch for Cancer Research UK, the veteran actress remained stoically upbeat about the forthcoming scene.
“It’s amazing how quickly you get over these things as an actress. I did a TV drama years ago in which my character had to stroke these stuffed cats and dogs.
“When I first went on set I thought I was going to be sick but by the end I was fine and practically had them sitting on my lap.
“Another time, I was filming a horror film with Joan Collins – playing a nun carrying out scientific research on rats – and I had to pick these rats up by the tails and inject them. It was just horrible.”
