Guy Pearce to star in BBC One, Fx's 'A Christmas Carol'

Actor Guy Pearce will be headlining BBC One and FX's new series adaptation of Charles Dicken's classic "A Christmas Carol".

The 51-year-old actor will take on the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner and the spirits of Christmas past, present and future.

The three-episode show, which has been created by "Peaky Blinders" fame Steven Knight, is described as a "haunting, hallucinatory, spine-tingling immersion into Scrooge's dark night of the soul", BBC One said in a press release.

Pearce will be joined by actors Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham, Charlotte Riley, Joe Alwyn, Vinette Robinson, Rutger Hauer, Kayvan Novak and Lenny Rush in the cast.

Knight, who has written the new adaptation, will also executive produce alongside Dean Baker, David W Zucker, Kate Crowe and Mona Qureshi.

"This production of 'A Christmas Carol' will respectfully present what we believe to be a timely interpretation of a timeless story," Knight said in a statement.

Actor Tom Hardy and filmmaker Ridley Scott are also on board the project as executive producers.

The show, to be directed by Nick Murphy, will be produced by FX Productions, Scott Free, Hardy Son & Baker for BBC One.

It will air on BBC One in the UK and on FX in the US. The UK public broadcaster and US cable network have previously collaborated on "Taboo", which featured Hardy in the lead.