Joseph Fiennes cast as Gareth Southgate in National Theatre but who could play Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford?

Forget Shakespeare in Love, Joseph Fiennes is now tackling ‘Southgate in Love’ as he is cast as England’s manager Gareth Southgate in a National Theatre production of Dear England.

The play will follow the story of the footballer behind one of the Three Lions’ most infamous penalty misses and how as the manager he went on to change attitudes surrounding the beautiful game.

Taking its name from a letter written by Southgate to fans ahead of England’s Euro 2020 final where they faced Italy, distinguished playwright and TV writer James Graham will get the play ready for its premiere in June at the Olivier Theatre.

Graham said: “What Gareth Southgate has attempted in his quiet cultural reform of England football I find epic and deeply moving…and I'm so grateful to be surrounded by some of British theatre's most exciting creative talent to unite around this new show."

While Joseph Fiennes, known for his roles in The Handmaid’s Tale and American Horror Story, has been announced to take on the leading role in Dear England, questions are building as to who could play some of Gareth’s key players including strikers Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford.

PeopleWorld takes a look at potential actors who could be cast with their ‘striking’ resemblance:

The Manchester United star, who has scored 14 goals in 24 games so far this season, could be played by several notable English actors who have all made strides in their careers in recent years.

One option could be Emily in Paris’ Lucien Laviscount who not only has striking resemblance to the Red Devil football player but also has a passion for the beautiful game himself after playing in Soccer Aid in 2022.

Hollyoaks star Malique Thompson-Dwyer would be a good choice for Dear England as like Marcus, he is a Manchester-born, in addition to having a connection to football after appearing in I’m A Celebrity with Harry Redknapp.

One last suggestion from PeopleWorld could be Sex Education’s Kedar Williams-Stirling who astoundingly took on a role in a football-themed theatre production last February called Red Pitch. Could Kedar transfer from Red Pitch to the Red Devils star?

In terms of Harry Kane’s double on stage, there are several actors who could take on the role of the England captain.

Despite living across the pond, Mr Ryan Gosling has an uncanny resemblance to Harry Kane, so maybe James Graham could pull off a hat-trick and cast the La La Land star.

A little closer to home, Will Poulter could be selected to play Harry in the National Theatre in June, as it would fit in perfectly with his latest film project Guardians of the Galaxy volume three being released the month prior.

Finally, fans have already potentially cast Kurt Russell’s son Wyatt Russell as Harry, after people flocked to Twitter to talk about how similar the Captain America star looked to the English Captain.