Dan Stevens, whose grotesquely blonde waves and aberrantly blue eyes terrified audiences for three seasons on Downton Abbey, will once more put those abnormalities to good use as the Beast in Disney’s Beauty And The Beast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stevens will star opposite Emma Watson’s Belle and Luke Evans’ Gaston in the live-action retelling of the oft-retold fairy tale, which director Bill Condon is hoping to have ready before the next inevitable Beauty And The Beast project.
Stevens will make a natural Beast, joining a grand historical lineage of since about 2011 or so, where actors such as Beastly’s Alex Pettyfer and The CW’s Jay Ryan have horrified ordinary humans with their unnatural handsomeness, plus maybe a scar or some tattoos or whatever. Stevens also proved he has monstrous tendencies in last year’s The Guest, which should serve him well in bossing around whatever poor British actors Condon shoves inside candelabras and tea kettles this time.