Christoph Waltz to Portray Mikhail Gorbachev in REYKJAVIK

Variety reports that Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) will portray Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in director Mike Newell's upcoming film REYKJAVIK. The Austrian actor, who will soon be seen on the big screen in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, will star opposite Michael Douglas as former president Ronald Reagan in the film.

REYKJAVIK follows Reagan's trip to Iceland in October, 1986 to meet with Gorbachev for Cold War peace talks. Said director Newell, "I feel very fortunate to have two such masters to portray the men who brought about the end of the third great war of the 20th century. The film will offer the viewer a unique look into two larger than life figures who served as the catalysts for one of the most defining moments in our history, the end of the Cold War," said Scott Free president Ridley Scott.

Written by Kevin Hood, the film will be produced by Headline Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Participant Media and Mark Sennet Productions. Production is set to begin in March in Reykjavik, Iceland and Studio Babelsberg, Germany.