Bob Hoskins takes role in The Englishman's Boy

British actor Bob Hoskins, who stars in Hollywoodland and Mrs. Henderson Presents, is joining the cast of The Englishman's Boy, currently being shot in Saskatchewan as a two-part miniseries for CBC-TV.

Hoskins will play an ambitious 1920s movie producer who asks a young writer, played by Michael Therriault, to track down a former bit actor from early western movies.

The story about the search for the actor, played by Canadian Nicholas Campbell, is one of two parallel story lines in The Englishman's Boy, based on the book by Guy Vanderhaeghe.

Shooting is wrapping up now in Saskatchewan on the portion of the book that centres on the infamous 1873 Cypress Hills Massacre, in which an outlaw gang killed a group of Assiniboine people.

It now switches to the parallel story set in 1920s Hollywood.

The miniseries is being directed by John Smith, who helmed The Boys of St. Vincent.

In an interview with CBC Saskatchewan's Blue Sky on Tuesday, editor Jackie Dzuba said Smith is a collaborative director who involved her from the early stages of script development.

She said the challenge with shooting a much-loved book like The Englishman's Boy is to recreate the story in a way that readers will accept.

"The challenge is always to be in keeping with the book because that's where viewers are the most critical, is seeing movies that are from books."

The script in this case is "excellent," Dzuba said.

It was developed by Saskatoon-based writer Vanderhaeghe, a first-time screenwriter.

"I never say no to anything, but its very important for me when I contemplate doing something like this is to trust the people I'm doing it with," he told CBC Television from the set at the beginning of September.

"John [Smith] is a great director and we worked together for a long time before it started being shot."

Shooting in Saskatchewancontinues until Oct. 12.