Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly is set to star with Ben Whishaw in Bad Behaviour, Australian/New Zealand actress and filmmaker Alice Englert’s directorial debut.
The film is a dark comedy about Lucy (Connelly), a former child actress who seeks enlightenment at a retreat led by spiritual leader Elon (Whishaw) while she also navigates the close yet turbulent relationship with her stunt performer daughter, Dylan (Englert).
Connelly can currently be seen starring in Top Gun 2: Maverick opposite Tom Cruise. The blockbuster premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, opening in theatres Friday, 27 May and has broken records grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
Ben Whishaw can most recently be seen in the lead role of Adam Kay's hit TV series adaptation of This is Going to Hurt and in the reprise of his role as “Q" in the hugely anticipated James Bond blockbuster No Time to Die.
Supporting cast includes New Zealand’s own Ana Scotney, who most recently starred in the Berlin and SXSW premiering drama comedy Millie Lies Low, SAG Award®- winning actress Dasha Nekrasova (Succession) whose directorial debut, The Scary of Sixty First, won Best First Feature at the Berlin Film Festival in 2021, Karan Gill (I May Destroy You) and Marlon Williams (Sweet Tooth).
Englert, who wrote the screenplay and is also directing the film, can most recently be seen in the Sundance 2022 premiering film You Won't Be Alone by Goran Stolevski and Starz's upcoming series reimagining Dangerous Liasons alongside Kosar Ali and Lesley Manville. She came on the scene in Sally Potter’s feature Ginger & Rosa and Britt Poulton and Dan Savage’s Them That Follow alongside Olivia Colman and Walton Goggin. Englert has also played in several acclaimed series such as Netflix’ show Ratched, BBC series Top of the Lake and BBC One and Netflix’s The Serpent. As a filmmaker, Alice has made two shorts, The Boyfriend Game and Family Happiness, that have screened at premiere festivals around the world including Berlin, Toronto, MIFF and BFI London. The Boyfriend Game also won her a writing award at Melbourne’s St Kilda and was featured on Vimeo’s “Staff Picks."
Bad Behaviour is produced by Desray Armstrong and Molly Hallam, and executive produced by Stephen Braun of Bee-Hive Productions. The independent film's production is taking place in New Zealand and is financed with funds from the New Zealand Film Commission, the New Zealand Screen Production Grant, Fulcrum Media Finance and Bee-Hive Productions with additional support from AHI Films and Images&Sound. CAA and Verve Ventures will co-represent the sale of North America with Protagonist handling ROW sales. AHI Films will distribute theatrically in Australia and New Zealand.
Connelly is repped by CAA, RMS and The Lede Company; Whishaw by CAA, Hamilton & Hodell, Peikoff Mahan and CLD Communications; Englert by CAA, Hamilton & Hodell, HLA Management, United Management and Narrative PR; Scotney is repped by Gail Cowan Management and MGMT Entertainment; Nekrasova by Gersh, Management 360, ID and Gochman Law Group; Gill by Grandview and The Artists Partnership; Williams by CAA and Heartstop Music. Bee-Hive Productions is represented by Verve.