Henry Winkler has joined the cast of ‘The French Dispatch’.
The ‘Barry’ actor is the latest big name to sign up to be a part of director Wes Anderson’s upcoming post-World War II drama and he will appear alongside the likes of Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Bob Balaban, Benicio Del Toro and Timothee Chalamet.
The movie is set in the 1950s and will see three separate storylines thread together as the cameras follow a group of journalists at an American newspaper bureau in Paris.
The former ‘Happy Days’ star’s casting came a few weeks after Saoirse Ronan confirmed she will be reteaming with her ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ director on the movie.
Asked if she’ll be working with him again, she said: "Yeah, in the spring. Has that [casting] been released? Well it has now."
Anderson is writing the film as well as directing, while Scott Rudin is on board to produce.
It’s unclear if a distribution deal is officially closed but it is expected to be distributed by Fox Searchlight, who have released several of the director’s past films, including 2018’s ‘Isle of Dogs’.
‘The French Dispatch’ is expected to be released later this year.
Henry recently wrapped filming on the second season of ‘Barry’, a show which has brought him widespread critical acclaim and even his first Emmy Award win for his portrayal of acting teacher Gene Cousineau.
At the ceremony last September, the 72-year-old actor joked he was using a speech he’d written 43 years ago, when he landed the first of his seven nominations.
He quipped: "I wrote this 43 years ago…
"[My lawyer] Skip Brittenham said to me a long time ago, ‘If you sit at the table long enough, the chips will come your way’. Tonight, I got to clear the table."
After thanking ‘Barry’ creators Alec Berg and Bill Hader and the show’s cast and crew, Henry turned his attention to his family.
Calling back to his old speech, he quipped to his adult children: "Jed, Zoe, and Max, you can go to bed now!"
Henry Winkler joins French Dispatch
