Benedict Cumberbatch in Talks for August: Osage County Film, Starring Meryl Streep & Julia Roberts

British stage and screen actor Benedict Cumberbatch is in talks to star as “Little” Charles Aiken in the forthcoming film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film stars previously announced Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, Tony nominee Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney and Juliette Lewis. August: Osage County will be adapted by Letts, directed by John Wells and produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslove, along with Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler and Claire Rudnick Polstein. Filming is scheduled to begin in September. No release date has been set.

August: Osage County is the story of the Weston family, who reunite at their rural Oklahoma homestead when Beverly, the alcoholic patriarch, goes missing. Streep is set to star as Violet, the pill-popping, deeply troubled mother of the family. Roberts will play Barbara, Violet’s daughter, and Breslin will play Barbara’s daughter Jean. Martindale is set to play Violet’s sister Mattie Fae, and Cumerbatch will play her son Charles. Lewis will star as Karen and Mulroney will play Steve, her fiance. August: Osage County originally premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, then transferred to Broadway on December 4, 2007. The production earned the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play and completed its run on June 28, 2009.

Best known as Sherlock Holmes on TV’s Sherlock, Cumberbatch’s London theater credits include Frankenstein, Hedda Gabler and The Children’s Monologues. His additional film and TV credits include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Amazing Grace, Atonement, Parade’s End, Fortysomething and the 2011 film adaptation of War Horse.