Bill Nighy & Jeremy Swift Join Voice Cast Of Animated Feature ‘10 Lives’

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Nighy ( Living ) and Jeremy Swift ( Ted Lasso ) have signed on to join the voice cast of CG animated family comedy 10 Lives .

The pair will join already-announced cast members Mo Gilligan ( That's My Jam ), Simone Ashley ( Bridgerton ), Sophie Okonedo ( Hotel Rwanda ), Dylan Llewellyn ( Derry Girls ), and musician Zayn Malik.

Nighy, who picked up an Oscar nom this week for his leading role in the Kazuo Ishiguro-scripted Living , will voice the character of Professor Craven, while Swift will lend his voice to a wise-cracking dog called Happy.

The pic tells the story of Beckett, a pampered and selfish cat who has taken the lives he's been dealt for granted. After carelessly losing his ninth life, he begs to be given a second chance and an opportunity to show he can learn from his mistakes. Eventually, his wish is granted, but with certain stipulations.

The film is directed by Chris Jenkins ( Duck Duck Goose ) and produced by Guy Collins and Sean Feeney for 10 Lives Productions, alongside Martin Metz and Adrian Politowski for film production and financing company Align, Yann Zenou for Quad, Valérie d'Auteuil and André Rouleau for Caramel Films, and Louis-Philippe Vermette for The Happy Producers. Casting is by Robyn Klein and Jeremy Ross. The animation studio is L'Atelier Animation in Montreal.

"It is such an unbelievable pleasure to be working with this phenomenal cast, and to be adding Bill and Jeremy is just the icing on the cake," director Chris Jenkins said. "Each recording session is a masterclass in how to support and trust the instincts of these great performers as they bring our characters to life."

Bill Nighy is repped by Independent Talent Group, United Talent Agency, Q Voice, and Public Eye Communications. Jeremy Swift is repped by APA Agency, Independent Talent Group, and Framework Entertainment.

GFM Animation will be selling the film at the forthcoming EFM alongside the Enzo d'Alo-directed feature A Greyhound Of A Girl , which has been selected for Berlin's Generation KPlus sidebar. A Greyhound Of A Girl is based on a novel by Roddy Doyle and features a voice cast including Brendan Gleeson, Sharon Horgan, and Rosaleen Linehan.