Nick Cave is set to star as iconic science fiction writer H.G. Wells in the upcoming biopic The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.
The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Wain, the English artist best known for his surrealist drawings featuring anthropomorphized large-eyed cats and kittens.
Wells, who wrote notable science fiction novels like The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds, was a friend of Wain’s and champion of his work.
Along with Cave and Cumberbatch, the film’s cast includes Claire Foy, Taika Waititi, Olivia Colman, Andrea Riseborough and Toby Jones.
A new trailer for the film features a brief glimpse of Cave as Wells, appearing to conduct a radio interview about Wain’s work.
It comes in what has been a busy time for Cave, who has also released a new spoken word track called ‘Shyness’, based around a letter he received on his Red Hand Files website.
The spoken-word song is inspired by two letters the musician got from fans Daniel and Vera back in October 2019, with one asking “what is shyness?” and the other enquiring about Cave’s first date with his wife.
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“Shyness is the tentative sound of the orchestra tuning up before the symphony begins. It is a beautiful, fractured piece of music in itself. It is the orchestra attempting to find its shared intent and is over all too quickly if you ask me,” Cave responded at the time.
“My wife, Susie, has a hummingbird shyness. In social situations, she displays herself for a magical, weightless moment then darts away. It is as if she is so acutely tuned into the inherent discomfort of others, whether they display it or not, that the situation becomes overwhelming. She is a rare thing, an exhibitionist that hates to be seen,” he added.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain will be released on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 5th.
Check out Nick Cave as H.G. Wells in the trailer for The Electrical Life of Louis Wain:
