Jonathan Rhys Meyers set to play Pearse in 1916 film

Cork actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is to play political activist Pádraig Pearse in a film about the Easter Rising 1916.

Liam Neeson’s son, Micheál, will play the Irish revolutionary leader, Michael Collins, 20 years after his father performed the same role in the Neil Jordan 1996 classic, Michael Collins.

Rhys Meyers, 38, best known for his role as Henry V111 in The Tudors, played the role of Collins’ assassin in Michael Collins. He also played a leading role in the Irish civil war drama, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.