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Downton Abbey star Dominic West has landed his next movie role in The Man Who Stole Portugal, a period heist film based on one of the biggest cases of fraud in human history that has just started production.
Set in the 1920s, the film follows Alves Reis, a humble man with a talent for hustling who wants to provide a better life for his wife Maria and their family.
He forges his way up the ladder, before embarking on his biggest con yet: tricking the Bank of Portugal into giving him a vast amount of personal wealth. Unfortunately, he financially devastated the entire country in the process.
Related: UK film release dates
This City is Ours and A Thousand Blows' James Nelson Joyce leads the cast as Alves Reis, while House of Guinness' Emily Fair plays Maria.
The film also stars Our Flag Means Death's Joel Fry, Saltburn's Richard E Grant, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's Nia Towle, The Worst Person in the World's Herbert Nordrum, and Killing Eve's Kim Bodnia.
Dominic West, who appeared in the second and third Downton Abbey movies, is playing a character called Carlos.
"Alves Reis is fascinating because he doesn't set out to destroy the system, he wants a way into it. He wants security, respect, and a future for his family. That feels very alive now, when so many people feel the odds are stacked against them," said director Thomas Napper.
"What makes the story so thrilling is watching an outsider learn how to open those doors, bluff by bluff, and for a while make the system work for him. It's outrageous and funny, but it also speaks to something very current: who gets access, who gets shut out, and what people will do to cross that line."
Executive producer Terry Smith added: "The Man Who Stole Portugal is the tale of a criminal genius who realised that forging a contract to print banknotes was infinitely easier than forging the notes themselves.
"It's also remarkably prescient -- the shockwaves it sent through the Portuguese economy, and the political collapse that followed, find strong echoes in the money printing by central banks during the 2008-09 financial crisis and COVID."
The Man Who Stole Portugal is filming now, with production taking place across the UK, South Africa, and Portugal. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is available to stream via Sky/NOW Cinema.
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