Tom Holland’s Fred Astaire Biopic Adds Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter
Tom Holland’s long-awaited transformation into legendary dancer and actor Fred Astaire is finally taking shape, and he now has two major stars joining him.
Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter have officially joined Sony Pictures’ untitled Fred Astaire biopic, with Qualley set to play Astaire’s older sister and longtime dance partner Adele Astaire, while Carpenter will portray his iconic screen partner Ginger Rogers. The casting was first reported exclusively by Deadline.
For a project that Holland first announced back in 2021, the latest casting development represents a major step forward.
Tom Holland Is Fred Astaire
Holland has been attached to play Fred Astaire for nearly five years, but the actor’s upcoming role is particularly interesting because of his own background in dance.
Before becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars as Spider-Man, Holland performed as Billy Elliot on London’s West End. He has previously spoken about returning to intensive dance training for the Astaire project.
In July, Holland revealed that he wanted to perform the film’s dance sequences himself rather than rely on doubles. He also expressed an interest in shooting the numbers in single takes, echoing the kind of performance discipline associated with Astaire’s own work.
That makes the project considerably more demanding than a conventional Hollywood biopic.
Margaret Qualley Will Play Adele Astaire
Margaret Qualley has landed the role of Adele Astaire, Fred’s older sister and his original professional dance partner.
Before Fred became a Hollywood icon, the siblings built their careers together through vaudeville, Broadway and London’s West End. Their partnership was an important part of Fred Astaire’s early career before Adele eventually stepped away from performing.
Qualley’s own dance background makes the casting particularly fitting. She studied ballet before pursuing acting and has previously incorporated her dance training into her screen work.
Her recent credits include The Substance, Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness and The Dog Stars. Her performance in The Substance also earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
Adele’s Story Could Be a Major Part of the Film
Interestingly, this isn’t being positioned as a story solely about Fred Astaire’s Hollywood career.
Director Paul King has emphasized the importance of Adele, whose career is far less documented today than her brother’s. King noted that no surviving footage of Adele’s dancing exists, making bringing her story to the screen a particularly unusual challenge.
That suggests the film could explore the Astaire siblings’ partnership before Fred became synonymous with classic Hollywood musicals.
Sabrina Carpenter Is Ginger Rogers
Sabrina Carpenter will portray Ginger Rogers, the performer who became one of Astaire’s most famous dance partners.
Astaire and Rogers famously appeared together in a series of classic musicals, including Top Hat, Swing Time and Shall We Dance. Their partnership became one of the defining screen collaborations of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
For Carpenter, the role marks another significant step in her acting career after establishing herself as a major pop star.
She has previously appeared in films including Work It and The Hate U Give, while her music career has made her one of the biggest names in contemporary pop. She is also a two-time Grammy winner.
The Astaire project will therefore bring Carpenter back into a major acting role while requiring her to work within a period musical setting.
Paul King Is Directing
The film is being directed by Paul King, the filmmaker behind Paddington, Paddington 2 and Wonka.
King is also co-writing the screenplay with Steven Levenson, based on Kathleen Riley’s book The Astaires: Fred & Adele. Riley is additionally involved as a story and script consultant.
The project is being produced by Amy Pascal, Rachel O’Connor and Tom Holland, with Holland producing through his Billy17 company alongside the film’s other production partners.
Fred Astaire’s family is also involved. His daughter, Ava Astaire McKenzie, is supporting the production, while her son Tyler McKenzie is serving as a consultant and co-producer.
A Very Different Role for Tom Holland
For Holland, this movie could represent one of the biggest departures of his career.
Audiences around the world primarily know him as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but his early career was built around dance and theatre.
Playing Astaire brings those two sides of his career together.
Rather than depending entirely on visual effects or action choreography, Holland will need to recreate the physicality, timing and elegance associated with one of the most influential dancers in cinema history.
And according to Holland himself, he’s taking that challenge seriously.
He previously said he had already begun rehearsals and planned to perform the dancing himself.
The Film Has Been Years in the Making
Holland first revealed that he would play Astaire in 2021, meaning the project has been in development for roughly five years.
The long wait has generated plenty of speculation about the film, particularly regarding who would play Adele and whether the production would actually move forward.
That question has now been answered.
With Holland as Fred Astaire, Qualley as Adele Astaire and Carpenter as Ginger Rogers, the central cast is finally beginning to come together.
What We Know About the Fred Astaire Movie
Detail Information
Film Untitled Fred Astaire Biopic
Fred Astaire Tom Holland
Adele Astaire Margaret Qualley
Ginger Rogers Sabrina Carpenter
Director Paul King
Writers Paul King & Steven Levenson
Based on The Astaires: Fred & Adele by Kathleen Riley
Studio Sony Pictures
Producers Amy Pascal, Rachel O’Connor, Tom Holland and others
Release Date Not announced
Geeksterr Take
There’s an interesting story hiding underneath the obvious headline here.
At first glance, this is simply Tom Holland playing Fred Astaire. But the casting of Margaret Qualley as Adele changes the shape of the project.
Fred Astaire’s rise to fame didn’t begin in Hollywood. It began with his sister.
Their professional partnership helped establish Fred before he eventually became one of cinema’s defining dancers. Meanwhile, Ginger Rogers represents the chapter of his career that audiences are probably most familiar with.
That gives the movie three distinct pieces of Astaire’s story: his relationship with Adele, his Hollywood partnership with Rogers, and Holland’s attempt to recreate Astaire’s extraordinary dancing.
And with Paul King behind the camera, this could be much more than a conventional chronological biopic.
For now, Sony hasn’t announced a release date. But after years of development, the project finally has the cast needed to bring Astaire’s story to the screen.
Tom Holland is Fred Astaire. Margaret Qualley is Adele. Sabrina Carpenter is Ginger Rogers.
The dancing is about to begin.
