Armagh born McCusker who is most well known for his role as Jamie Maguire in Channel 4’s ‘Shameless’ has been cast for the role of Freddie Mercury’s late partner, Jim Hutton.
Hutton, an Irish hairdresser from Carlow, was a key figure in Mercury’s life with the pair together for 6 years before Mercury’s passing. During Mercury’s illness, Hutton was his carer and was by his side when he died in 1991. The relationship between the pair was largely private and was only publicly unearthed when Hutton wrote ‘Mercury and Me,’ which chronicled their relationship before Hutton passed away to cancer in 2010.
McCusker will play alongside ‘Mr. Robot’ star, Rami Malek who is playing Freddie Mercury, as well as fellow Irishman Allen Leach who will be portraying the role of Paul Prenter, Mercury’s controversial personal manager.
The movie is directed by Bryan Singer, the Script was written by Anthony McCarten (Theory of Everything) and Justin Haythe (Red Sparrow, Revolutionary Road), and is being produced by Jim Beach, Robert De Niro and Graham King. Arnon Milchan, Denise O’Sullivan and Jane Rosenthal are Executive Producers.
McCusker’s previous credits have also seen him feature as a series regular on ‘The Astronaut Wives Club’ for ABC, as well as star opposite Stanley Tucci, Christopher Eccleston and Michael Gambon in Sky Atlantic’s ‘Fortitude.’
Production on Bohemian Rhapsody is underway, and the film is due for U.S. release on December 25, 2018.