ELSINORE

SIMON STONE | UK, ITALY, USA | 2026 | 111 MIN | ENGLISH

Andrew Scott gives a career-best performance in the stirring true story of actor Ian Charleson, who bravely took on the most challenging role of his career while battling AIDS.

In this moving biopic, Andrew Scott channels Ian Charleson, the Scottish actor perhaps best known for his breakout role in Chariots of Fire. Elsinore picks up in 1989, as Charleson’s career has begun to stall and—more devastatingly—he’s beginning to show symptoms of AIDS. At this fraught moment, Charleson receives a life-changing opportunity: to step in as Hamlet for a run at London’s esteemed National Theatre. Despite the misgivings of his empathetic but hard-nosed new doctor (Olivia Colman), he throws himself wholeheartedly into the production, fighting to maintain the athletic stamina required of the role even as his body starts to fail him. Director Simon Stone approaches Charleson’s final months not as a tragedy, but as the triumph of an artist determined to make the most of his limited time. The result is a profoundly affecting backstage drama and a vivid look at London’s devastated yet resilient creative community in the midst of crisis. At its center is Scott, who finds in Charleson a remarkable mixture of raffish charm, vulnerability, and stubborn strength. Surrounded by a terrific ensemble including Billie Piper, Joe Locke, and Juliet Stevenson, Scott delivers a performance that’s destined to remain in conversation come awards season. Undeniably gut-wrenching but never maudlin, Elsinore ultimately becomes something much more than a story about a great artist dying young; it’s a joyful testament to the transcendent power of creating art.

Cast: Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn

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