Al Pacino to portray King Lear in film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy; Michael Radford to helm project

Veteran actor Al Pacino is all set to portray King Lear on the big screen adaptation of William Shakespeare’s epic tragedy. [caption id=“attachment_5613221” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Al Pacino. Image from Facebook[/caption] The project will mark yet another collaboration between Pacino and director Michael Radford, reported The Observer. The two have earlier worked on The Merchant of Venice, the 2004 film adapted from the Shakespeare play. In the feature, Pacino played the role of Jewish moneylender, Shylock. King Lear depicts the gradual descent into madness of the title character, after he disposes of his kingdom by giving bequests to two of his three daughters egged on by their continual flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. “Lear is the one that everyone aims for. Al has been toying with the idea for a long time. There’s a difference between Shylock, who’s only in five scenes, and Lear, who is in every scene, pretty much, Radford said. “It’s enormous. I think (Pacino) would like to have that kind of kudos because he’s a terrific actor,” he added. The shooting for the project is expected to start next year in the UK. Pacino will also be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s next, _Once Upon a Time in Hollywood_ , alongside Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie.