Based on a true story, “Dream Horse” tells the inspirational tale of Welsh villagers who invest in their neighbor’s dream to breed a champion racehorse.
Five things you need to know:
- Australian actress Toni Collette plays real-life South Wales bartender and store clerk Jan Vokes. For the role, Collette conquered the intimidating challenge of learning to speak with a Welsh accent.
- Collette said she felt pressure and a responsibility portraying a real person, who was sometimes on the set during filming.
- Vokes said she was surprised to see how easily Collette inhabited her character, down to the hard-to-master Welsh accent. "To have an A-list actress play me was unbelievable," said Vokes. "To sit and watch Toni play me was like an out-of-body experience."
- Collette was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense.” She also starred in another Oscar-nominated film, “Little Miss Sunshine.” Collette received Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations for the performance. More recently, Collette starred in Rian Johnson’s hit “Knives Out” alongside Daniel Craig and Chris Evans.
- “Dream Horse” also stars Damien Lewis, a Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning actor known for his roles in HBO’s “Band of Brothers” and Showtime’s “Homeland.” He can currently be seen as Bobby Axelrod in Showtime’s highly successful series “Billions.” Lewis’ most recent film role was playing Steve McQueen in Quentin Tarantino’s Academy Award winner “Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.”