Less than two months before the live-action/CGI adaptation of Michael Bond’s beloved children's character Paddington gets it world premiere, two more big British names have been added to the voice cast, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Michael Gambon, who played Albus Dumbledore in five Harry Potter films, will voice Paddington’s Uncle Pastuzo, while Imelda Staunton, another Potter alumn and most recently seen in U.K. comedy Pride, will voice Aunt Lucy.
As announced in July, Ben Whishaw is voicing the lead — a marmalade-loving anthropomorphized bear from "deepest, darkest Peru" who comes to London and first appeared in novels in 1958 — having replaced Colin Firth whose voice wasn’t deemed right for the role.
Other, non-CGI cast members including Hugh Bonneville and Sally Hawkins, who will play the married couple who adopt Paddington after he's found at a train station, Julie Walters as the eccentric housekeeper, and Peter Capaldi as the neighbor. Jim Broadbent appears as the owner of an antiques shop while Nicole Kidman plays the film antagonist, an evil taxidermist.
Paddington is being produced by Heyday Film and Studio Canal, with Paul King directing. It is due to have its world premiere in London Nov. 23 before being released in the U.S. on Christmas Day.
