The Plot Against America actor Anthony Boyle and Toby Jones, the star of Captain America and The Girl, are to topline a BBC Two drama that will tell the real-life story of how a war hero goes on to be accused of murder.
Working titled Danny Boy, the feature-length film is made by Expectation (producer of Sky’s David Schwimmer comedy Intelligence), written by BAFTA-winning Murder scribe Robert Jones, and directed by I May Destroy You’s Sam Miller.
Boyle will play war hero Brian Wood who is humbled when he is accused of war crimes in Iraq by the human rights lawyer Phil Shiner, played by Jones. The two men go head-to-head in a legal and moral conflict that moves from the battlefield to the courtroom and one of Britain’s biggest ever public inquiries.
Alex Ferns (Chernobyl) and Leah McNamara (Normal People) also feature as Woods’ father and wife respectively. Filming has commenced on the drama.
Robert Jones said: “Here’s a man who won a medal for valour but whose toughest test was the scrutiny that followed. External scrutiny, and soul searching too — Brian Wood’s story is a fascinating one for a writer to explore.”
Danny Boy is produced by Simon Lewis (Three Girls). Executive producers are Colin Barr and Susan Horth for Expectation and Lucy Richer and Clare Sillery for BBC Two. The show was commissioned by BBC Two controller Patrick Holland and BBC drama chief Piers Wenger. BBC Studios distributes.