Â鶹Éç

Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce will take on one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragic characters as he plays the title role in King Lear in the 2012 autumn season at London's .

The actor, who was born in Holywell in north east Wales, made his breakthrough screen performance in Terry Gilliam's Brazil. An experienced stage and screen actor, he won an Olivier Award in 1980 for his performance in Hamlet and is well known for his recent appearances in the Pirates of the Caribbean series of films.

Jonathan Pryce, as Mr Buxton in the Â鶹Éç adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford

Artistic Director at the Almeida Theatre, Michael Attenborough - who will direct the play in 2012 - said: "I think Jonathan will be able to portray a king who could exercise power quite brutally when he wanted to, and then be devastated at the loss of that power. He's my perfect Lear."

Dates and further casting for King Lear at the Almeida are yet to be announced.