Pacino to play King Lear

Al Pacino is joining forces with filmmaker Michael Radford for their second shot at Shakespeare - a big screen adaptation of 'King Lear'.

It's the first time Pacino has tackled the part, although he has played a string of the playwright's other famous characters during his career.

The actor previously worked with Radford on 2004's 'The Merchant of Venice', in which he played the story's central character, Shylock.

And Pacino will be in good company, some of acting's most revered talents have played the ageing King, including Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles and most recently Ian McKellan.

And King Lear's producer Barry Navidi, who also worked on 'Merchant of Venice', insists it has taken years to persuade Pacino to play the role - but is adamant it was worth the wait.

He tells Variety: "Al (Pacino) has been offered this role many times over the years, but didn't feel ready.

"He's ready now. The film will be true to its period, very similar to the classical look of Merchant of Venice. Michael (Radford) came up with the most brilliant adaptation and Al and I flipped for it."