A doctor is swapping medicine for Hollywood after learning that her first screenplay is poised to go into production with an A-list cast.

John Malkovich, Peter O’Toole and Darryl Hannah are among the stars lining up for the period epic, Love and Virtue, written by Mia Sperber, who is a consultant radiologist in Liverpool.

Dr Sperber, the author of seven medical books, said that she had always wanted to write.

Production of Love and Virtue, which will depict the battles within King Charlemagne’s empire, will begin at the end of August. Malkovich will play the part of a tribal king and Hannah the role of Fiordelisa, while it is understood that O’Toole rearranged his schedule in order to play Atlantes, a sorcerer.

Dr Sperber said that after agreeing to the part, the Lawrence of Arabiastar — who has yet to win an Academy Award in spite of eight nominations — told her: “This is my Oscar.”

Love and Virtue is set during the reign of Charlemagne (Charles the Great, 768-814), the visionary king who changed the face of Europe through his attempts to revive the Roman Empire.

The $27 million (£13.6 million) production will be directed by the avant-garde film-maker Raúl Ruiz. Speaking to The Times at the Cannes Film Festival last week, he said that when Dr Sperber sent him the script, he was intrigued. “There were so many possibilities. If I were to single out what most stands out about Love and Virtue, it would be its extraordinarily poetic and visionary character.” He said that the script’s philosophical and spiritual content was “coupled with great action, so rarely found in projects today”.

Other leading actors who will appear will include Anna Massey, Damien Lewis, Saffron Burrows and Stephen Dillane.

Massey, who won a Bafta for her performance in the 1986 adaptation of Anita Brookner’s Hotel du Lac, has been cast as the loyal secretary of Charlemagne, who in turn will be played by Dillane.

Dr Sperber said of the secretary: “She’s a historical character. We know a lot about Charlemagne because she took notes. I’ve gone to those original notes.”

Damian Lewis, who starred in Band of Brothers, will play the movie’s hero, Orlando, a knight in love with the beautiful Angelica, played by the French actress Virginie Ledoyen.

Love and Virtue is the first of five screenplays by Dr Sperber which are attracting the attention of film industry names.

She said that Uma Thurman had expressed an interest in being cast as Greta Garbo in a film about the reclusive star, and Istvan Szabo is to direct a film about Machiavelli, the ruthless 16th-century Italian statesman.

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