Italian actor Luca Marinelli, who was seen recently in Cannes Jury Prize winner The Eight Mountains, will play Benito Mussolini in Joe Wright’s upcoming series M. Son Of The Century, Deadline reported.

The eight-part drama, based on Italian historian and writer Antonio Scurati’s bestselling book M charting the rise of the fascist dictator, starts filming in Rome’s Cinecittà studios this week.

The casting was announced at a presentation of the drama at the Rome Film Festival on Tuesday.

A former Berlinale European Shooting Star, Marinelli won Venice’s Coppa Volpi for best actor in 2020 for his performance in Pietro Marcello’s Jack London adaptation Martin Eden. Other notable credits include They Call Me Jeeg for which he won Italy’s Davide Di Donatello in 2016.  

His most recent role was in Belgian director Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandemeersch’s Italian-language drama The Eight Mountains, about the life-long friendship of two friends from different backgrounds against the backdrop of a remote mountain valley.

M. Son of the Century is produced by Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli at Rome-based The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, in collaboration with French mini-major Pathe.

The series will follow the period from the founding of Fasci Italiani in 1919 through to Mussolini’s infamous speech in parliament following the murder of socialist MP Giacomo Matteotti in 1925.

The events of that period will be presented with historical accuracy, with every event, character, dialogue and speech documented or witnessed by multiple sources.

The drama will also give an insight into Mussolini and his personal relationships, including with his wife Rachele, his lover Margherita Sarfatti, and with other iconic figures from the time.

The adaptation is written by Stefano Bises (Gomorrah, The New Pope, ZeroZeroZero, Speravo de mori prima) and Davide Serino (1992, 1993, Il Re, Esterno Notte).

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