PREVIEW

Pierce Brosnan and Amir El-Masry to lead Prince Naseem Hamed biopic. The Egyptian-British actor, best known for roles in The Crown, The Night Manager and A Haunting in Venice, has been tapped to play the British world featherweight boxing champion in the sports drama Giant. He will star opposite the former James Bond actor as Hamed's Irish-born boxing trainer Brendan Ingle. Giant is the true story of Hamed's humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker-turned-boxing trainer. ”Their unlikely partnership along with Naz's unorthodox style, cocky persona and sheer dominance in the ring, propelled them to the top of boxing's elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of 80s and 90s Britain.” The film will be written and directed by Rowan Athale and executive produced by Sylvester Stallone and Braden Aftergood of Balboa Productions. Stallone, who famously played boxer Rocky Balboa in the Rocky franchise, is set to star in Athale's other directorial outing Little America. Stuart Ford, the Chairman and CEO of AGC Studios, the company behind the feature, described the tale as an "extraordinary story" with Brosnan and El-Masry as "a powerful lead duo”. Hamed, who has Yemeni heritage, competed professionally between 1992 and 2002. He is now 50 years old. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT