Sophie Simnett signs on for silent comedy The Candidate
The Daybreak actor will star with Jack Whittle in Mark Bell’s black-and-white feature debut, with production planned for autumn 2026.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
Sophie Simnett is heading into silent-film territory with The Candidate, a black-and-white comedy that Variety reports will pair her with writer-actor Jack Whittle.
The film is described as a silent comedy with a dance interlude and a style rooted in the Chaplin era. Simnett, known for Netflix’s Daybreak and the British crime feature Twist, will star opposite Whittle, whose credits include Tony!.
The Candidate will be the first feature directed by Mark Bell. Bell is best known for his Olivier Award-winning work on the stage hit The Play That Goes Wrong, where physical comedy and ensemble farce do the heavy lifting.
The movie will also have an original score by Howard Goodall, whose credits include Blackadder and Mr Bean. According to the film’s team, the music is intended to carry on the tradition of storytelling without dialogue.
A power trip, without the talk
According to the film’s description, The Candidate follows a naive dreamer who accidentally ends up with power. As he confuses that power with purpose, he drifts away from what once mattered to him.
The filmmakers describe the project as a cautionary tale with comedy on the surface and a question underneath: what do people want from their leaders?
Simnett will play Love. The filmmakers describe the character as a nod to the great leading women of silent cinema, bringing playfulness, wit and joy into a world increasingly shaped by control.
They also say Love’s compassion gives the film its emotional center and serves as the conscience inside the satire.
Production set for autumn 2026
The Candidate is being produced by Over The Fence Films. The company’s credits include Everybody Dig Evans, which recently won a Silver Bear at the Berlinale, as well as Berlinale title The Education of Jane Cumming.
Over The Fence Films has also been behind Double Freedom, a Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title, and Everybody to Kenmure Street, which won a special jury prize at Sundance.
Production on The Candidate is scheduled for autumn 2026, according to Variety.
The producers said the film will ask a lot from its performers because it relies on movement, mayhem, comic timing and chemistry rather than dialogue. They said Simnett and Whittle have the expressive range needed for the job.
Simnett has several other film roles on the way. Her upcoming slate includes Falling with KJ Apa and Isabel May, Everybody Wants to F— Me with Taron Egerton and Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Topic Studios’ Scorn, led by Adria Arjona and Kingsley Ben-Adir.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.