Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, who captured Anya Taylor-Joy's attention on (and off) the chessboard in hit Netflix drama The Queen's Gambit, has played the best move of all by being picked to portray Brian Epstein, the Beatles' legendary manager, in a new film that will shoot later this year.
Epstein was dubbed 'the fifth Beatle' by Paul McCartney; and when John Lennon heard of his death, from an accidental overdose in 1967, he declared: 'He was one of us.'
The 33-year-old rising star was chosen for the part in Midas Man (An Unauthorised Autobiography of Brian Epstein) by director Jonas Akerlund.
A Grammy-award winning music video filmmaker, Akerlund is celebrated for his collaborations with Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Madonna; as well as two pictures: Polar, a highly visualised graphic novel adaptation starring Mads Mikkelsen; and Lords Of Chaos, about Norwegian underground satanic band Black Metal. 'His style always pushes the envelope,' Fortune-Lloyd said of the director's work.