Movie stardom looks set to beckon for Lincoln Cathedral after the spectacular Gothic building once again proved its pulling power as a star attraction.
No stranger to movie stardom, this time the 950-year-old Cathedral is expected to portray Notre Dame in Paris with Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix and director Ridley Scott filming scenes there in March.
Film crews transformed the Cathedral into a set for Napoleon Bonaparte biopic, Napoleon, with The Joker star playing the title role in the film, directed by Scott, whose string of blockbuster hits includes Gladiator, Blade Runner and Alien.
The historical drama centres on the famous French leader, who went from military general to Emperor of France, while focusing on his tumultuous relationship with the woman who became his wife, Joséphine.
Shot primarily in the UK, the movie charting Napoleon’s spectacular rise and fall is expected to be released next year on streaming service Apple TV+.
It is the latest movie production to feature the historic city.
Lincoln Cathedral, and the cobbled streets around it, have previously seen Hollywood A-lister Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard film scenes for the Da Vinci Code in 2005, and Oscar-nominated director Mike Leigh also used Lincoln as a set for Peterloo, the story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre.
Often doubling as Westminster Abbey, the Cathedral has also been used to recreate royal coronation scenes.
Netflix’s historical drama The King, portraying the early reign of King Henry V, saw Timothée Chalamet in Lincoln during filming in 2018, while Emily Blunt was at the Cathedral to be crowned Queen Victoria for her movie, The Young Victoria, in 2007.
One of Europe’s finest Gothic buildings, the Cathedral is a spectacular and iconic landmark that has been standing over the city of Lincoln for centuries and was the tallest building in the world for over 200 years.
Set within cobbled streets in Lincoln’s historic heart, it is one of two Norman gems that stand opposite each other across a picturesque square.
Just steps from the Cathedral – which marks its 950th anniversary in 2022 – lies Lincoln Castle, which has its own TV claim to fame. It was a filming location for the third series of Downton Abbey in 2012, when the Castle’s Victorian Prison stood-in for York Prison, where valet John Bates, played by Brendan Coyle, served time for the murder of his former wife.
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For details about visiting Lincolnshire, see www.visitlincolnshire.com
