Johan Heldenbergh cast as lead in Zookeeper’s Wife

Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh of Broken Circle Breakdown fame has been cast as one of the leads in The Zookeeper’s Wife, a new Hollywood film about the Polish couple who saved 300 Jews from the gas chambers during the Second World War. 

The film is based on the 2007 book by American writer Diane Ackerman, based on diaries of the real-life couple. Heldenbergh (pictured) plays Jan Zabinski, who was the director of the Warsaw Zoo in the 1930s. The role of Antonina Zabinski will be played by Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty). Niki Caro, director of Whale Rider and North Country, is set to direct the film.

Heldenbergh, 48, has long been a popular stage, television and film actor, with memorable roles in TV series Jes and films De helaasheid der dingen (The Misfortunates) and Aanrijding in Moscou (Moscow, Belgium) 

His international breakthrough was The Broken Circle Breakdown, in which he played a man struggling to communicate with his partner after the death of their daughter. The film, based on Heldenbergh’s own stage play, won numerous awards worldwide and was last year nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. 

The Zookeeper’s Wife is slated for release at the end of next year.