Sir Anthony Hopkins is set to star in the movie adaptation of 'The Father'.

Sir Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins

The 80-year-old actor has taken on the role of Andre in the upcoming film adaptation of the hugely successful play by Florian Zeller, which first opened in Paris in 2012.

Oscar-winning actor Anthony will play Andre, who suffers with early onset Alzheimer's, and can't remember if he used to be an engineer or a tap dancer.

His daughter Anne becomes concerned after he accuses his third carer of stealing his watch, and fires her.

'The Father' details the life of Andre in an emotionally charged exploration of the effects of ageing.

The play - which has also been performed in New York's Broadway, as well as in Sydney and Singapore - has picked up Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Actor, as well an Olivier nomination for Best New Play, and a Tony nomination for Best Play, all in 2016.

The screenplay for the movie adaptation has been written by Florian with the help of Christopher Hampton, who translated the play into English when it was performed on stage in Bath and London, and shooting is expected to start in October this year.

According to the Daily Mail newspaper, it is not yet known where the production will shoot, with bosses considering both London and Paris as options.

As of the time of writing, no other casting announcements have been made, but the play version doesn't feature an extensive cast, with only a handful of main characters.

For Anthony, the role comes as he's currently busy portraying Pope Benedict in Netflix production 'The Pope', as well as starring as Robert Ford in the HBO sci-fi thriller series 'Westworld'.