Today marks the start of a festival in Wales to celebrate 100 years since the birth of playwright and poet Dylan Thomas. Rhys Ifans has already been a big part of marking the centenary, and now he’s taking it further as Variety reports that he’ll play the Under Milk Wood writer in the indie drama Dominion.
John Malkovich and Diego Luna have also signed up for the movie, with Steven Bernstein (Decoding Annie Parker) directing from his own script.
The film will focus on the events surrounding the last days before his untimely death at the age of 39 in 1953 in New York, which included multiple visits to the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village.’
Thomas was ill when he got to New York, although there’s been some speculation over exactly what killed him. The official reason was pneumonia, with pressure on the brain and a fatty liver as contributing factors. He was also given morphine before he was admitted to hospital, which is known to have affected his already difficult breathing – and some feel it’s more likely that killed him than pneumonia on its own. He was also an alcoholic although officially this didn’t contribute to his death.
The movie is due to start shooting later this month.
