The full trailer for HBO’s My Dinner With Hervé gives viewers a better idea of what they can expect from Peter Dinklage’s performance as French actor Hervé Villechaize. The film tells the story of Villechaize’s friendship with struggling journalist Danny Tate, played by Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan, when he was assigned to do a profile on the actor. Joining Dinklage and Dornan is an impressive cast that includes Emmy nominee Mireille Enos, Andy Garcia, Oona Chaplin (Game of Thrones), and Harriet Walter, who made a splash recently as Lady Caroline Collingwood on HBO’s terrific Succession.
The seemingly runs through much of Villechaize’s life, especially his rise to fame from roles in things such as the James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun and, certainly, as Tattoo on Fantasy Island, for which he became known for delivering the line “The plane, the plane” to Ricardo Montalban’s Mr. Roark. Though it apparently touches on many of Villechaize’s personal details, the film’s central story — that of the actor and journalist’s interactions — unfolds over a single night in Los Angeles, which could make the movie more compelling, at least from a structural point of view.
More: Maniac Review: Surreal Limited Series Is Gorgeous But Falls Short Of Transcendent
This new full trailer seems to be much more focused on Dinklage’s performance as Villechaize, suggesting it will be another highlight reel for the actor. This makes sense, considering Dinklage just took home his second Emmy — and beat out co-star and onscreen brother Nikolaj Coster-Waldau — for his performance as Tyrion Lannister on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Check out the new trailer and poster for the film below:
The role and film have not come without a touch of controversy, however, as Dinklage’s casting was hit with accusations of “whitewashing.” The claims stem from the assumption that Villechaize was of Filipino descent, which Dinklage dispelled in a recent interview with EW. In that interview, the actor said:
“There’s this term “whitewashing.” I completely understand that. But Hervé wasn’t Filipino. Dwarfism manifests physically in many different ways. I have a very different type of dwarfism than Hervé had. I’ve met his brother and other members of his family. He was French, and of German and English descent. So it’s strange these people are saying he’s Filipino. They kind of don’t have any information. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes or sense of justice because I feel the exact same way when there’s some weird racial profile. But these people think they’re doing the right thing politically and morally and it’s actually getting flipped because what they’re doing is judging and assuming what he is ethnically based on his looks alone.”
Whether that solves the issue completely or not remains to be seen, and viewers will have to decide for themselves when the movie premieres on HBO in October.
Next: The Good Cop Review: Tony Danza Charms In Otherwise Tepid New Series
My Dinner With Hervé premieres Saturday, October 20 @8pm on HBO.