One actor playing both siblings in the same movie is a decidedly risky move.
Sometimes it pays off: Douglas Fairbanks as Mario and Lucien Franchi in The Corsican Brothers; Armie Hammer as the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network; Paul Dano as Paul and Eli Sunday in There Will Be Blood.
Mel Brooks and Mike Myers used the device successfully in their films; but then, of course, there’s Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill.
Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) is set to join the club when he takes on the dual roles of Ron and Reggie Kray in this fall’s Legend.
The Kray Twins were notorious gangsters in the 1960s London underground. From the official synopsis:
Together, the Kray Twins take over the city. But as their reign expands, power-struggles, fierce madness, and a woman diminishes their bond; the weak link that could cause their empire to collapse. Legend takes us into the secret history of the 1960s and the extraordinary events that secured the infamy of the Kray twins.
The film’s got a meaty supporting cast: Paul Bettany, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Taron Egerton, and Chazz Palminteri co-star.
It also has a writer/director who knows his way around comparable material; Brian Helgeland, who wrote Mystic River and L.A. Confidential. The movie is based on the book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson.
Legend hits theaters on September 9 in the UK and on October 2 in the US. Check out the newest trailer above.