Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington and Ryan Kwanten have joined the cast of Kidnapping Freddy Heineken. Embankment Films handles pre-sales.

As previously announced by ScreenDaily, Anthony Hopkins will star in Daniel Alfredson’s action thriller. Alfredson is best known for directing two of the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Dutch actor Mark van Eeuwen and Australian newcomer Tom Cocquerel have also joined the production, set to begin shooting later this month in Belgium before moving on to Amsterdam and New Orleans.

Hopkins will portray brewery magnate Freddy Heineken, who was kidnapped along with his chauffeur in 1983 and eventually released for a 35 million Dutch guilder ransom, roughly equivalent to $50m by today’s standards.

William Brookfield adapted the screenplay from Dutch investigative reporter Peter de Vries’ bestseller.

Informant Media partners Judy Cairo and Michael A Simpson produce alongside Howard Meltzer under the Informant Europe label.

Informant partner Eric Brenner serves as one of the executive producers and the project financiers are Informant Media, Global Film Partners, Three Point Capital, uFilm and the National Bank Of Canada.