“THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB” FIRST LOOK SHOWS HELEN MIRREN AND PIERCE BROSNAN AS 'QUIRKY' SENIOR SLEUTHS (EXCLUSIVE)
Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie also star in the adaptation of the first novel in Richard Osman’s bestselling book series
- PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the Netflix movie The Thursday Murder Club, starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie
- The film is based on the first novel in Richard Osman’s bestselling book series about retirement home residents who solve mysteries
- Mirren tells PEOPLE she read the novel years ago and thought, "If they ever make a movie of it, I'd love to play that role"
How’s this for a killer cast? Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie star in The Thursday Murder Club — and PEOPLE has the exclusive first look at the highly anticipated Netflix movie, directed by Chris Columbus.
The film, which is based on the first book in Richard Osman’s popular series, follows four feisty residents of a U.K. retirement home who solve cold-case murders for fun.
When a death happens close to home, the quartet get caught up in a thrilling and humorous whodunit.
Mirren, 79, plays Elizabeth — who may or may not have been an agent for MI5 during her working years, according to Mirren. The Oscar winner says she fell in love with the character when she read the book years ago.
“I sort of went, ‘Oh, if they ever make a movie of it, I'd love to play that role.' And I very, very rarely feel that, but I have to confess, I did feel that this time,” says Mirren.
On set, the MobLand star reveled in getting to better know her costars, all of whom she had crossed paths with before. She and Kingsley, 81, started their careers in the Royal Shakespeare Company; she and Brosnan, 71, made the 1980 movie The Long Good Friday, but didn’t share any scenes together; and Imrie, 72, costarred with Mirren in the 2003 comedy Calendar Girls.
“There was a sense of, ‘Gosh, guys, isn't this amazing?’ ” she says. “‘Here we all are again. How fantastic it is.’ It was a very appropriate feeling for the piece as well, the way these people, these characters come together in all their idiosyncrasies,” she continues, adding that their characters are "very funny, lovable, quirky, but flawed."
Imrie plays Joyce, a former nurse who is “inquisitive, a little uncertain, optimistic, sympathetic, and ready for adventure,” says the Bridget Jones’s Diary actress. Brosnan stars as Ron, a onetime union activist, while Kingsley takes on the role of former psychiatrist Ibrahim.
“There was a shared trust and respect between us, a genuine affection for the book and subsequent script,” says Kingsley. "But I think the real bond between us was our shared admiration for our director Chris Columbus.”
Indeed, Brosnan jumped at the opportunity to re-team with Columbus, who directed the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire.
“[It’s] a film that I hold close to my heart,’ he tells PEOPLE. “So when I got the call from Chris, that he was making a movie of The Thursday Murder Club I was halfway there already. By the time I’d read the book by Richard Osman I was completely hooked.” It’s safe to say viewers will be too.
The Thursday Murder Club — which also stars Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Jonathan Pryce and Tom Ellis — is on Netflix Aug. 28.
Read the original article on People
2025-04-24T12:34:23Z