Harvey Keitel Boards Peacock Series The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, a co-production of Sky Studios and Peacock, has secured Harvey Keitel for the lead role of the modern-day Lale Sokolov in the upcoming adaptation of the Heather Morris novel of the same name, TVLine has learned.
The series is inspired by the heartbreaking real-life story of Lale and Gita Sokolov. “Lale (The Little Mermaid‘s Jonah Hauer-King) arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, and shortly after arrival, he was made one of the tätowierer (tattooists), charged to ink identification numbers onto fellow prisoners’ arms,” reads the official description. “One day, he meets Gita (Baptiste‘s Anna Próchniak) when tattooing her prisoner number on her arm. They experience love at first sight, and so begins a life-affirming, courageous, unforgettable, and human story. Under constant guard from a volatile SS officer Baretzki, Lale and Gita became determined to keep each other alive.”
“The love story in this project, in the face of the horror, gives testimony to the spirit and the goodness of people,” Keitel said in a statement.
The actor stars as the older Lale, 60 years following the events at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He eventually meets novice writer Morris (Yellowjackets‘ Melanie Lynskey) with whom he recounts his story.
Other new cast members include Tallulah Haddon (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) as Hanna, Mili Eshet (Barren) as Ivana, newcomer Yali Topol Margalith as Cilka, Phénix Brossard (Departure) as Leon, Ilan Galkoff (Good Omens) as Aaron and Marcel Sabat (Tenet) as Tomas.
Jacquelin Perske serves as lead writer and executive producer, while Tali Shalom-Ezer directs all six episodes.
Have you read The Tattooist of Auschwitz and will you be watching the series? Let us know in the comments.
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Amazing book but I have zero faith it’ll be adapted without any “modernization”. If the screenwriters, producers, actors and directors can stay true to the source material then they’ll have a winner on their hands. It was a best seller for a reason. Leave it alone.
I didn’t look at any of the actors but I assume they’ll all only be of backgrounds actually affected by the holocaust? That’s how it works now, right? Representation matters and all.