He gets about a bit doesn’t he and this time he’ll be taking on the task of playing Shakespeare in the upcoming BBC 2 and Amazon adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens. Out of the ashes of Royston Vasey, Reece Shearsmith (League Of Gentlement) has risen like the freakiest phoenix you’re likely to see on TV, and while he’ll be heading back to the local town for local people later this year, he’ll be following it up with the challenge of channeling the spirit of The Bard.
The Beeb announced the fantasy fiction comedy back in September 2017 with David Tennant (Doctor Who) and Michael Sheen (Passengers) in the lead roles of demon Crowley and angel Aziraphale. Shearesmith is the latest addition to the cast and while it appears to be a minor role in the massive production, he’s got a knack for making small parts stand out.
Silent Singer was one of the most memorable characters from Psychoville Series 2 and his part as Ray the fishmonger in Car Share is a genius comedy cameo in an otherwise stripped-back cast. He’s obviously got his regular duties as co-creator and star of Inside No. 9 to keep him off the streets, but his part in Good Omens will surely be another impressive dark notch on his credits list.
The fact that he’ll also be digging up the festering relics of Royston Vasey in The League Of Gentlemen 20th Anniversary Specials will see him back as Papa Lazarou and Edward Tattsyrup. Going Shakespeare should be a little pedestrian for him with so many crazy characters rattling around in his head, so it’s going to be fun to see how it’s delivered.
The announcement came from Neil Gaiman himself, who Tweeted the picture above, along with the details of the casting. It adds to a raft of names that have been associated with the production, which is due to air on BBC 2 in 2019, following its arrival on Amazon Prime a little earlier in the year.
Gaiman has also confirmed that Josie Lawrence will be reprising the role of Agnes Nutter. She played the part in the Radio 4 adaptation of Good Omens and she’ll be back in the TV production too.
The BBC has previously added that Jack Whitehall (Decline And Fall) to the cast list, who will play Newton Pulsifer, the last member of the Witchfinder Army. Adria Arjona will star as Anathema Device, Nina Sosanya as Sister Mary Loquacious, Michael McKean as Shadwell, Miranda Richardson as Madame Tracy, Ned Dennehy as Hastur and Ariyon Bakare as Ligur.
There have been a few more cast members announced recently, with Anna Maxwell Martin playing the ultimate demon Beelzebub. Lourdes Faberes, Yusuf Gatewood and Mireille Enos will complete the horsemen of the apocalypse who are poised to set in motion the coming of the end of times that Crowley and Aziraphale are dead set against.
