Peter O'Toole to Star in Showtime's 'The Tudors'

According to Variety, Academy Award-nominated actor and theatre veteran, Peter O'Toole, will return to the Showtime mini-series "The Tudors" in a new recurring role as as Pope Paul III.

O'Toole will appear in seven episodes where "the season two storyline promises to pit O'Toole's pontiff against Jonathan Rhys Meyers' Henry VIII. Skein will follow the historic showdown between the two men."

O'Toole has been nominated eight times for an Academy Award as Best Actor, most recently for his role in Venus (2006).  He has won three Golden Globes, an Emmy, and a special honorary Oscar in 2003.  His other notable films include Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, The Lion in Winter and My Favorite Year.

Having made a turn on Broadway in the revival of Pygmalion (1987), he is most recognized for his experience on the British stage.  His credits include several appearances with the Old Vic; King Lear, Hamlet, Waiting for Godot, Macbeth, Jeffrey Berhard is Unwell.

Showtime's Robert Greenblatt explains "We needed someone of enormous stature to play Pope Paul III, who faced off against Henry VIII in his bid to get his divorce from Katherine of Aragon. Henry's defiance of the pope and his break with the Roman Catholic Church is one of the great turning points in the history of the world."

Photo by Retna Ltd.