Cannes 2012: Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Payne Join 'The Physician'

CANNES – Ben Kingsley, Tom Payne and Stellan Skarsgard have joined the cast of the medieval period drama The Physician, based on the best-selling novel by Noah Gordon about a healer traveling across Europe in the 11th century.

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Payne, a regular on the HBO series Luck and whose credits include the BBC’s Waterloo Road and the feature Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), will star as the physician Rob Cole, who searches for the scientific truth of illness and healing in a medieval world dominated by religion and superstition.

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Oscar-winner Kingsley will play Ibn Sina, the so-called “doctor of all doctors” while Skarsgard, seen most recently in Disney/Marvel blockbuster The Avengers, will play Barber, Rob Cole’s first mentor.

French actor Olivier Martinez (Unfaithful, S.W.A.T.) has also signed up to play the Shah Ala ad-Daula.

German director Philipp Stoelzl, whose credits include the period dramas North Face and Young Goethe in Love, will helm The Physician, which Jan Berger (The Door) is adapting for the screen.

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The Oscar-winning post-production house Pixomondo (Hugo) will handle visual effects for the film.

Shooting on The Physician is set to start in Morocco and Germany next month.

Beta Cinema is co-producing The Physician with Ufa Cinema. Beta is handling world sales and selling the project to buyers at Cannes’ Marche du Film.