The first trailer for Andrew Scott's Oscar-tipped new film Elsinore has been released, offering an extended look at the Dublin actor’s acclaimed performance as Scottish stage star Ian Charleson.
The biographical drama follows Charleson in the final months of his life as he prepares to play Hamlet at London’s National Theatre while seriously ill with Aids.
Directed by Simon Stone and written by Pride screenwriter Stephen Beresford, Elsinore has already won the International People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Watch: First look at Andrew Scott is Oscar-tipped Elsinore
Scott’s performance has also drawn strong reviews and generated awards-season buzz ahead of the film’s release.
The trailer opens with Charleson frustrated by the direction of his career following his success as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
Discussing his ambition to one day play Hamlet, he says: "It’s the greatest part you can play. In the greatest theatre."
He is then told by casting director Patsy Pollock, played by Billie Piper, that director Richard Eyre is considering him for the role at the National Theatre.
Charleson eventually stepped into the production after Daniel Day-Lewis left the role in 1989.
The trailer shows his health beginning to deteriorate after a make-up artist notices a lesion on his face.
He visits doctor Margaret Johnson, played by Olivia Colman, and asks whether she has seen men like him before.
After she tells him she has, Charleson says: "I have to play Hamlet."
When Eyre later raises concerns about his health, Charleson insists on continuing with the production.
"You’re not letting me. I choose to do it," he tells him.
As rehearsals continue, Charleson becomes increasingly determined that his illness should not overshadow his work.
"If people see me and not the character that I play, then I’ve failed," he says. "I won’t be a victim."
The trailer closes with Scott delivering Hamlet’s famous "To be or not to be" speech before Charleson tells his doctor: "It’s quality that I want. It’s glory. It’s joy."
Charleson was best known on screen for his performances in Chariots of Fire and Gandhi, while his stage career included leading roles in Guys and Dolls, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Fool for Love.
He was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 and died in January 1990 at the age of 40, shortly after his acclaimed run as Hamlet.
Alongside Scott, Colman and Piper, Elsinore stars Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, Monica Dolan, Joe Locke, Juliet Stevenson and Peter Mullan.
Scott himself previously played Hamlet in Robert Icke’s acclaimed stage production in 2017.
Elsinore will receive its European premiere when it opens the BFI London Film Festival on 7 October.
The film will be released in Irish cinemas on 29 January 2027.
