Matthew Rhys to star in adaption of du Maurier's The Scapegoat

Brothers And Sisters actor Matthew Rhys and Gosford Park actress Eileen Atkins are to star in an adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s The Scapegoat, which is being produced by Island Pictures.

The psychological thriller about a man who meets his rich doppelganger and takes over his life will be sold as a theatrical feature worldwide by Content and premiere on television in the UK on ITV.

Charles Sturridge, who co-wrote the original Brideshead Revisited TV adaptation, has written the screenplay and will direct.

The project has been backed by ITV and Content Film.

It will be the first production to come out of new company Island Pictures, set up in 2010 by Dominic Minghella (who created UK TV series Doc Martin) and Sarah Beardsall, who began her career as a casting director working on The Talented Mr Ripley and Four Weddings And A Funeral.

Beardsall describes The Scapegoat as “a landmark project for us. Du Maurier gives us a great dramatic concept, and combined with Charles Sturridge’s taut script and direction, the wonderful Matthew Rhys in the two lead roles, and a stellar ensemble including Eileen Atkins, Island Pictures is off to the best possible start. This is our calling-card, and a statement of intent - to produce film and television with the highest of ambitions.”