Sir Mark Rylance

Sir Mark Rylance has appeared in three films directed by Steven Spielberg; ‘The BFG’, 'Bridge of Spies' and ‘Ready Player One'.

The pair have reunited again for their fourth project, the screen adaptation of David Kertzer's book ‘The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara’ about the Papal States' seizure of a six-year-old boy named Edgardo Mortara from his Jewish family in Bologna. The film is expected to be released in 2025.

Rylance, 64, has a theory as to why Spielberg has cast him in multiple projects.

He said: “Film directors need to be very ordered and deliver things on time and on budget. So, what they can’t indulge themselves in is chaos. I think they like people who are able to bring chaos to them, as much as the formal gardener is very appreciative of compost. I’m the compost and he’s the gardener.”