And who is Sam Claflin, you may rightfully ask? According to Disney: Hailing from the United Kingdom, Claflin attended The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He then won roles in the historical mini-series “The Pillars of the Earth,” alongside actors Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Matthew MacFadyen and Donald Sutherland, followed by the telefilm “The Lost Future.”
Claflin will play a young missionary named Phillip, which doesn’t seem quite as swashbucklery as the Orlando Bloom position he is ostensibly assuming. The actor joins the equally unknown Astrid Berges-Frisbey as the “key” female role of an alluring mermaid, while Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane are in talks or already aboard the good ship.
The Jerry Bruckheimer production is being directed by Rob Marshall (CHICAGO, NINE). It’s due in theaters on May 20, 2011, and we can be almost assured it’ll be 3D.