It’s being reported that Matthew Macfadyen has been cast in the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham in Ridley Scott‘s currently-filming Robin Hood. The announcement was made on his blog after his agent made the confirmation.

Macfadyen hasn’t appeared in much, but you can find him in Pride & Prejudice, Death at a Funeral, as well as Frost/Nixon.

This finally puts a cap on everything for this project. As you’ll recall, Russell Crowe was originally supposedly playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in the movie then being called Nottingham. Not long after that, chaos rained down as we were told that Crowe would be playing both Robin Hood and the Sheriff. Eventually calmer waters prevailed and things fell into place with the explanation that the movie would simply hold the humble title of Robin Hood and that Crowe would just be playing the title character. Now, with the casting of Macfadyen as the Sheriff, it’s a little bit of closure on the whole slew of rumors. And after the release of that sweet first image seen above, we can all continue looking forward to Robin Hood again.

Frost/Nixon
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Toby Jones, Matthew MacFadyen
Rated R
Release Date: December 5, 2008

In 1977, just a few years removed from the only resignation by a U.S. President in the history of our country, Richard Nixon agreed to be interviewed by a moderately successful British TV personality, David Frost. Over the course of 28 hours of interviews, Nixon eventually apologized for the scandals of his administration. Not before or since has Nixon publicly addressed the issues surrounding Watergate.

Take a second to let that sink in. It’s only been 30 years since the interviews but the way we get our news today has changed so drastically that a news event like this would be impossible to achieve in today’s news environment. The advent of the internet and the 24-hour cable news channel has completely changed the way we get our news. But in 1977, when network anchors ruled the news on the Big Three, a foreign journalist against the odds scored what is still today considered the most important political interview ever.

Frost/Nixon was adapted from the 2007 Broadway play of same name that focused on the interviews and the preparation leading up to them. The outcome of the interviews is what made them as successful as they have become, but any time you have a movie based on actual events, the conclusion ends up being irrelevant. Since that element is removed as the dramatic driving force, the filmmakers had to rely on good old fashion storytelling and performances to push the film.