Aimee Lou Wood to star opposite Angelina Jolie in Anxious People

We had previously reported that actor Angelina Jolie is set to headline the film adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s novel Anxious People. It has now been announced that Aimee Lou Wood of Sex Education and The White Lotus-fame will be starring opposite the Maleficent actor in the upcoming film, helmed by Marc Forster, the maker of films such as World War Z and the Backman novel adaptation A Man Called Otto.

According to the plotline, Anxious People follows an investment banker Zara (Jolie) who reluctantly gets involved in a social scenario with strangers at a place where all visitors are welcome. When a bank robber Grace (Wood) takes them hostage by chance, it leads to a chaotic situation where secrets are let out. The makers note that the film "explores the enduring power of friendship, forgiveness, and hope — the things that save us, even in the most anxious times."

Academy Award nominee David Magee, Forster's A Man Called Otto scribe, has adapted the novel into a screenplay. Other actors part of the cast have not been announced.

Recently announced at Cannes, Anxious People is backed by Black Bear and Hope Studios' Fredrik Wikström Nicastro and and Renée Wolfe. Director Forster, Magee and Neda Backman serve as executive producers.

Wood's previous credits include roles in Oscar-nominated Living and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.