Timothee Chalamet is to make his London stage debut at the famous Old Vic theatre.

The King star, 23, will appear in Amy Herzog's drama 4000 Miles, in which he will star alongside British stage legend Eileen Atkins.

The Old Vic's artistic director Matthew Warchus, who will direct the play, told London's Evening Standard newspaper he used "the intoxicating" atmosphere of the historic theatre to persuade the Hollywood star to appear.

"He was in London doing some publicity for one of his films and he came over to have a chat with me and we had a walk around the theatre and onto the stage, and I think he is excited by it," Matthew explained.

The Oscar nominee will portray Leo in the production, a 21-year-old who forms a bond with his grandmother, an ageing New York radical, who will be played by Atkins, when he unexpectedly shows up at her house. It was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2013.

Warchus said he had no qualms about casting an actor better known as a movie star in the role - saying their chat had convinced him Chalamet was more than capable of impressing on stage.

"The question about can film actors come up with the goods on stage is usually answered when I talk to them," he explained. "As a director, you can gauge an awful lot in that conversation about the understanding they have of what the job is and what it would take, if anything, to get them match fit for the stage. He is a phenomenally intelligent young man and he is fully aware of what is required."

Tickets for the play, which runs from 6 April until 23 May 2020, go on sale next month.

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