Scottish actor Robert Carlyle is to join the cast of Netflix hit The Gentlemen for its third series.
The Glasgow-born star is set to become one of the biggest new additions to Guy Ritchie’s gangster comedy-drama.
Carlyle, 65, will join a cast led by Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Ray Winstone and Vinnie Jones, although details of his character have yet to be revealed.
His arrival may not come as a complete surprise. James has previously named Carlyle as one of the actors he wanted to see brought into the show.
Speaking about potential additions to The Gentlemen, James said: “In terms of people I would like to see on the show, I would like someone psychopathic like old-school Robbie Carlyle.”
The casting would put Carlyle into the world of larger-than-life gangsters three decades after Begbie helped make him internationally famous.
Born in Maryhill, Carlyle became one of Scotland’s best-known actors during the 1990s through roles including Hamish Macbeth, Trainspotting and The Full Monty.
He won the BAFTA for best actor for his performance as Gaz in The Full Monty and later played Bond villain Renard opposite Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough.
He has reprised the character of Begbie in T2 Trainspotting and appeared in Once Upon a Time, COBRA and The Full Monty television sequel.
Carlyle is already preparing for another major television role after joining the forthcoming seventh series of Line of Duty.
He will play specialist rifle officer DC Shaun Massie alongside returning stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar.
The Gentlemen began as a spin-off from Ritchie’s 2019 film of the same name.
The Netflix series follows Eddie Horniman, played by James, who unexpectedly inherits his family estate and discovers it is sitting on top of a vast cannabis operation controlled by the Glass crime family.
Its second series launched on Netflix on 3 September, expanding Eddie and Susie Glass’s criminal operation beyond the UK and introducing new cast members including Hugh Bonneville and Maya Jama.
Netflix confirmed in August that The Gentlemen had been renewed for a third season.