Christoph Waltz Will Be Mikhail Gorbachev Opposite Michael Douglas In Reykjavik

Earlier this year, Michael Douglas signed up to play Ronald Reagan in the film Reykjavik, with Mike Newell directing. The movie will cover the 1986 summit between the American and Russian leaders in Iceland, which marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.

Now we know who’ll play Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, as THR reports that Christoph Waltz has taken the job. He’ll be going bald and getting a port wine stain on his forehead when cameras start rolling early next year. The film could certainly be interesting, as before the summit, fear of nuclear war had been rising and the talks collapsed at least once, but by the end an accord had been struck that helped change the world.

Mike Newell commented, “I feel very fortunate to have two such masters to portray the men who brought about the end of the third great war of the 20th Century. Reagan and Gorbachev were two of the most significant politicians and individuals of their times. I’m very excited to see how each of these great actors gets to grips with their role as the history-changing giants we remember them to have been.”