Rupert Murdoch Praises Guy Pearce for Playing Him in Upcoming Film
Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch is reportedly “very happy” to see fellow Australian Guy Pearce portray him in a new, largely sympathetic film centered on his early business career, according to the actor.
Pearce, known for his roles in “L.A. Confidential” and more recently “The Brutalist,” was cast by Oscar-winning British director Danny Boyle to play Murdoch in the upcoming film “Ink.” Speaking to reporters at the Venice Film Festival, where “Ink” served as the opening film, Pearce said, “I had some messaging with Elisabeth, his (Murdoch’s) daughter, and she did say to me, ‘Dad’s very happy that you’re playing him.'” He added that Murdoch had not yet seen the finished film.
The portrayal comes years after HBO’s hit series “Succession,” which drew loose inspiration from the Murdoch family and offered a widely unflattering depiction of the media mogul through its ruthless patriarch, Logan Roy. Boyle, despite holding left-wing political views himself, said he did not set out to create a negative portrait of Murdoch, now 95, whose right-wing media empire remains a significant political force in Britain, the United States, and his native Australia, backing a range of conservative nationalist politicians and their agendas.
“Ink” centers on Murdoch’s expansion into Britain in the late 1960s, when he purchased the struggling tabloid The Sun and transformed it into a major commercial success through a steady mix of sex, sports, and scandal coverage. The film is adapted from a stage play by British playwright James Graham, which ran in London’s West End and on Broadway between 2017 and 2019.
“The stage play doesn’t… monsterize Rupert Murdoch, which, of course, a lot of people do now,” Boyle said. “I think it’s because he represented at the time… a breath of fresh air in what was a very rigid British society. And he’s dealing with a lot of prejudice against him as an Australian, which I can understand.” The director, known for “Trainspotting” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” added that Murdoch harbored a particular disdain for the British establishment — a sentiment Boyle said he personally shares. The film primarily follows the relationship between Murdoch and Larry Lamb, his first editor at The Sun, with Lamb serving as the story’s central character, according to Boyle.
Murdoch’s business empire and his relationships with his six children have long attracted attention from authors, screenwriters, and filmmakers. Beyond “Succession,” the five-times-married mogul has been the subject of numerous biographies, along with a recent Netflix documentary, “Dynasty: The Murdochs,” released earlier this year. That documentary focused heavily on Murdoch’s conflict with his children over efforts to install his eldest son, Lachlan, as successor to lead an empire that includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Sun, and publisher HarperCollins — a dispute that ultimately concluded with a multi-billion-dollar settlement and a court case that exposed several family secrets to the public.
Over the past several decades, Murdoch has reshaped tabloid journalism, cable television, and satellite broadcasting, while facing repeated accusations of fueling nationalist populism across the English-speaking world. Britain’s departure from the European Union and the rise of Donald Trump have both been partly attributed to Murdoch’s influence, and his media outlets have long promoted a pro-business agenda while expressing skepticism toward climate change.
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