Naomi Watts to Portray Ballerina Margot Fonteyn In New Movie 'Margot & Rudi'

Naomi Watts is taking on a new kind of role in an upcoming romantic drama.

The 57-year-old actress will be portraying famed ballerina Margot Fonteyn in the forthcoming project Margot & Rudi, according to Variety.

Keep reading to find out more…

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris filmmaker Anthony Fabian is set to direct, with WestEnd Films taking on sales, which will kick off at the upcoming 0226 Cannes Film Festival in May.

The story for the film “unfolds when Fonteyn, the greatest ballerina in the West, is 42 and sensing her career is over. Nureyev is 23, a rebellious Soviet defector — magnetic, explosive, unstoppable. Together, they ignite the stage and become icons of the Swinging Sixties. Fonteyn is reborn by Nureyev’s wild energy, but their bond is complicated by her marriage and his affair with another dancer. To preserve what they have, they will risk everything for one defining ballet—because the only place they can truly be together… is on stage.”

If you didn’t know, Naomi actually studied dance before she became an actress.

“Dance was my first love, and I’ve long dreamed of making a dance film. I feel deeply honored and excited to be playing Margot Fonteyn, one of the greatest dancers of all time,” Naomi shared in statement. “Her relationship with Rudolf Nureyev was extraordinary — both artistically and emotionally — and I’m thrilled to be exploring it with such sensitivity and imagination under the direction of Anthony Fabian.”

Principal dancer at the Hamburg Ballet, Alexandr Trush, is set to portray Rudolf Nureyev in the film, with the cast also including Richard E Grant, Demian Bichir and Harriet Walter.

Filming on the project is set to begin in October.

If you missed it, Naomi recently opened up about a moment with her kids that she turned into a teachable moment…