Benedict Cumberbatch to star in TV adaptation of ‘How to Stop Time’

Benedict Cumberbatch.
| Photo Credit: AP

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch will be seen headlining the TV adaptation of Matt Haig’s best-selling novel How to Stop Time. Tomas Alfredson, who directed Cumberbatch in 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, is attached to helm the six-part series. DC Moore (Sky and AMC’s upcoming Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore) is attached to write, adapting Haig’s novel for the screen, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The genre-bending novel, part love story, part spy thriller, follows Tom (Cumberbatch), a seemingly ordinary man who suffers from a very rare condition called anageria, which has kept him alive for centuries. Throughout history, Tom and men and women like him, have been feared, misunderstood and persecuted. Their lives are one of perpetual loss, as they see family, friends, lovers and children die before them. To survive, those with anageria have formed a secret society to protect their own, but also to enforce strict rules of behaviour. The first rule, and the one Tom threatens to break: never fall in love.

Excited about the project, Benedict said, “When I first read How to Stop Time, the potential of this story was immediately obvious. In his inimitable style, Matt once again explores what it is to be human and what it is to live a life — a very long one in this case — with pathos, insight, humour, drama and inspiration. I am so thrilled to be reuniting with Tomas Alfredson who is the perfect person to capture the scale, tension, and sense of humour alive in DC Moore’s adaptation.”

Haig added, “Benedict Cumberbatch is the dream person to play Tom Hazard and was always who I pictured in my mind. And Tomas Alfredson is the ideal director for this story. The whole team is incredible, and it is so great to feel a story is in the best possible hands.”

More details regarding the project are awaited.