Fiennes to star in Le Carre thriller

Ralph Fiennes is to star in the film adaptation of John Le Carre's thriller The Constant Gardener, according to reports in Hollywood.

The English Patient star, who starred in Red Dragon, will play Justin Quayle, an English diplomat in Kenya whose wife is killed alongside a human rights activist with whom she is suspected of having an affair.

Investigating her death, Quayle uncovers a web of deadly collusion between local politicians and a major Western pharmaceutical company to offload dangerous medicines in Africa.

Mike Newell was originally attached to direct it but dropped out when he signed instead to direct Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. He has been replaced by Brazilian Fernando Meirelles, who directed City Of God and will be making his first film in English.