Michael Douglas is Benjamin Franklin. The 77-year-old actor is portraying one of the Founding Fathers of the United States in an upcoming, historic limited series — and Apple TV+ has debuted the first official image of the actor in character.
Adapted from A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by writer Kirk Ellis and director Tim Van Patten, the eight-part series will focus on a dramatic chapter in the politician’s career when a 70-year-old Franklin convinced France to finance America’s democratic ambitions resulting in the Franco-American alliance of 1778.
In addition to Douglas as Franklin, the biographical series also stars Noah Jupe as Temple Franklin, Ludivine Sagnier as Madame Brillon, Thibault de Montalembert as Vergennes, Daniel Mays as Edward Bancroft, Assaad Bouab as Beacumarchais, Eddie Marsan as John Adams, Jeanne Balibar as Helvetius and Theodore Pellerin as Lafayette.
The series, meanwhile, marks the first major TV portrayal of Franklin since Tom Wilkinson portrayed him in the 2008 miniseries John Adams, which was also written by Ellis.