Adapted from a memoir by Latif Yahia, pic follows its author as he's recruited by Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday to become his permanent body double.
- Apr 26, 2011
AceShowbiz - British heartthrob Dominic Cooper pulls double duty in Iraq drama "The Devil's Double" which is based on true events. The film, directed by Lee Tamahori, made a visit to this year's Sundance Film Festival and garnered some positive reviews. Lionsgate has now released the first trailer ahead of the limited theatrical release.
"The Devil's Double" recounts the remarkable tale of Latif Yahia, an Iraqi army lieutenant who was summoned to Saddam Hussein's palace in 1987 and ordered to become the fiday, or body double, of his notorious eldest son, Uday. Many of his countrymen might have considered this a great honor, but it was merely the beginning of a hellish nightmare for Latif.
Under the constant threat of harm to his family, he had no choice but to play the role of silent witness while his nefarious captor indulged in countless brutal and depraved fantasies with no regard for human life.
In an interview with Hollywood.com during Sundance, Cooper talked about playing dual roles. "I needed to make one who is watching it believe it is two different people no matter how much reconstructive surgery one of them had had and how much they needed to look the same which they did, it was difficult to decide who was who," the actor said.
"I needed them to be clearly two different people, I got help from my wonderful dialect coach, I got help with the make-up lady. It was about making a vocal difference and physical difference and the way in which the two characters thought differently."
"The Devil's Doubles" plays in limited theaters across the nation July 29.
