'Outlander's Caitríona Balfe Joins Dark, Forbidden Romance in Star-Studded New Film Inspired by 'Rebecca'

Caitríona Balfe continues her successful post-Outlander film career with the addition of her latest role in The Housekeeper, a romance that fictionalizes the inspiration behind Daphne du Maurier’sRebecca.

First announced by Variety in 2024, The Housekeeper, which will film in Cornwall and at Knebworth House in Hertfordshire beginning Feb. 9, is based on a short story and forthcoming novel by Dame Rose Tremain.

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Balfe joins Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Laird and Sir Anthony Hopkins in the story about a housekeeper (Balfe) and a young writer (Laird) drawn into a secret and intoxicating affair. The film will be directed by Sir Richard Eyre.

“Rose Tremain has written a brilliant screenplay which is dark and surprising and mysterious, and we look forward to making a film which lives up to its promise,” said Eyre.

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The description is as follows: “Set against the wild, brooding landscape of Cornwall, the story centers on Danni (Balfe), the housekeeper at Manderville Hall, a grand historic house owned by the wealthy and widowed Lord Grenville-Whithers (Hopkins). When the young writer Daphne du Maurier (Laird) arrives, Danni is drawn into a clandestine and intoxicating affair. For one, it is an all-consuming love; for the other, an awakening of long-suppressed desires. Their fragile secret threatens to unravel under the watchful gaze of Adelaide (Bonham Carter), Lord Grenville-Whithers’ calculating niece.”

“The Housekeeper promises audiences an intoxicating blend of passion, elegance, and emotional truth, brought to life through Rose Tremain’s exquisite writing and Richard Eyre’s masterful direction,” added producer Herbert L. Kloiber for Night Train Media, which has joined the project as producer and principal financier.

Balfe’s other film credits include A Long Winter, The Cut,Belfast, Ford v Ferrari, The Amateur, Now You See Me, and Super 8.

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