Casting Net: 'Game of Thrones' actor to play Cinderella's prince

• He might be King of the North to some, but Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden (he plays Robb Stark on the HBO series) is about to reach a whole new demographic when he takes on the role of Prince Charming in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cinderella. Downton Abbey’s Lily James will play the title role in the Kenneth Branagh-directed film, with Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother. With a script from Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), we’re starting to get excited to see what Branagh does with the film, and to finally see Madden in a less stressful role.

• It’s quite a departure from her work in Anna Karenina and A Royal Affair, but up and coming actress Alicia Vikander is in talks to star opposite Tom Cruise and Armie Hammer in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The Swedish actress would play a British agent. For those of you who might remember the television series, don’t worry, you’re not losing your mind — this character is a new addition. Vikander can also be seen in The Seventh Son (out October 18) and The Fifth Estate (out November 13). [THR]

• The Help’s Octavia Spencer is set to join Kevin Costner (Man of Steel) in the drama Black and White. They will play grandparents fighting over the custody of a child whose parents are no longer in the picture. Spencer can also be seen in Fruitvale Station (in limited release July 12), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and has just finished filming Diablo Cody’s next project, Paradise. [Variety]

• Getting cast as a young Leonardo DiCaprio is probably a sign that studio and casting types expect big things from you. Callan McAuliffe (who plays a young Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation) is certainly not a known name yet, but he could be soon especially now that he’s been cast opposite Sir Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3) and Gillian Anderson (Hannibal) in the new sci-fi flick Our Robot Overlords. In the film, a teen (McAuliffe) goes on a hunt for his long-lost father in the middle of a war between robots and humans. [THR]

• Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia!), Jessica Alba (Sin City), and Kristin Scott Thomas (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) are set to star in the romantic comedy How to Make Love Like An Englishman. Brosnan will play a Cambridge University professor who lives a life of debauchery and excess and starts to wonder if that’s all there is after he meets Kristin Scott Thomas and impregnates her stepsister (Alba). Tom Vaughan (What Happens in Vegas) is set to direct.

• Gary Cole, who has been stealing scenes in Veep this season, is set to join the cast of The Town That Dreaded Sundown, based on the 1976 film (and a series of true events). Cole will play a Texarkana, Texas deputy who is trying to hunt down a serial killer who ravaged the town in 1946 and then reappeared in 2013. Ryan Murphy (Glee) is producing the film, with Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (second unit director on Argo) in the director’s chair. [THR]

• Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) and Olivia Williams (Hanna) have signed on to join David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, about ghosts and celebrity culture. John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, and Julianne Moore also star in the film, which sounds like it may focus heavily on Evan Bird’s (Tom Larsen in The Killing) character — a child star with a drug problem. Wasikowska will play his sister, who is described as “disfigure, schizophrenic, [and] fame-obsessed.” [THR]

• Whether you know him as Matthew Abaddon from Lost, Phillip Broyles from Fringe, or Cedric Daniels from The Wire, actor Lance Reddick’s iconic roles have not really been comedy-based. Which may be why he’s branching out with a role in Search Party alongside TJ Miller, Adam Pally, Alison Brie, and Shannon Woodward. Reddick will play the boss of one of the characters trying to find their friend who is stranded in Mexico. [The Wrap]

• Christian Cooke, who plays Mercutio in the upcoming adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, has signed on to join Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror) and Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman) in Love, Rosie based on the Cecelia Ahern book. [Variety]

Follow Lindsey on Twitter: @ldbahr

Casting Net: De Niro to play a cop in ‘Candy Store’

Casting Net: Jessica Chastain in talks to join Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’