Veteran Hollywood actor to attend South African première of Leading Lady

Gil Bellows is a veteran Hollywood actor who has accumulated over 80 acting credits, along with producing, writing and directing titles; and during a meeting with Director Henk Pretorius in Los Angeles in 2013, he was offered a role in Leading Lady.

Gil is probably best known for his work in the film, The Shawshank Redemption and the popular TV show, Ally McBeal.

He is the Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated producer of Temple Grandin and he has just completed his directorial debut in 3 Days in Havana.

The veteran actor plays Hollywood director, Daniel Taylor, in Leading Lady – a classic romantic comedy that tells the story of an aspiring British actress, Jodi Rutherford (played by Irish actress, Katie McGrath), who persuades Kobus Willemse (Bok van Blerk), a farmer from Brandfort, to prepare her for a role in a major film as an Afrikaans war heroine.

In return, Jodi undertakes to arrange and direct the annual concert at the Willemse farm. Jodi’s interaction with the quirky, small-town citizens of Brandfort and the stubborn Kobus, teaches her that there is more to life than Hollywood’s “lights, camera, action!” or is there…?

On the set of Leading Lady, the darling of South African stage and film, Brümilda van Rensburg, exclaimed, “My goodness, I am really star struck,” as she blushed in the presence of Gil Bellows.

In a tweet, Gil showed his excitement about visiting South Africa by saying: “Can’t wait to be a part of it! #BringItOn!”

The film is directed by South African, Henk Pretorius (Fanie Fourie’s Lobola), and co-produced by Pretorius and London-based / South African-born, Llewelynn Greeff.

Leading Lady will open in a cinema near you on November 28 and is distributed by Ster Kinekor Entertainment.