Filming on The Iron Lady, a much-anticipated biopic about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher starring Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent, began on January 31, and our pals at the HeyUGuys! blog and other British sites have received the very first picture of Streep in hair and make-up from production company Pathé UK. (Click on the picture at left for a larger hi-res version of the still; that’s the real Margaret Thatcher on the right.)
According to the promotional blurb accompanying the picture:
The film tells the compelling story of Margaret Thatcher, a woman who smashed through the barriers of gender and class to be heard in a male-dominated world. The story concerns power and the price that is paid for power, and is a surprising and intimate portrait of an extraordinary and complex woman.
And the press release includes a quote from Streep herself on playing the role:
“The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge. I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own!”
The movie is being directed by Phylidda Lloyd, best known for her involvement in the stage musical and accompanying movie Mamma Mia!, the latter also starring Streep. Broadbent plays Thatcher’s husband Denis with the couple’s younger selves played by Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd with the cast rounded out by Olivia Colman (as their daughter), Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright and John Sessions.
