Alex Wolff, Thea Sofie Loch Næss cast in Leonard Cohen bioseries ‘So Long, Marianne’

TORONTO — An upcoming Crave TV drama about the legendary romance between Leonard Cohen and his muse Marianne Ihlen has found its lead stars.

Producers of “So Long, Marianne” say they’ve cast U.S. actor Alex Wolff to play Cohen and Norwegian actress Thea Sofie Loch Næss as Ihlen.

The series recalls a period in the 1960s when the pair met on the Greek island of Hydra when they were in their early 20s.

She ended up inspiring the song “So Long, Marianne” which appeared on Cohen’s 1967 debut album “Songs of Leonard Cohen.”

Crave and Norwegian co-producer NRK say principal photography began for the series on March 24 and it will film in Montreal, Hydra and Oslo.

Other cast members include Australian actress Anna Torv, who recently appeared as Tess in “The Last of Us,” playing bohemian Australian novelist Charmian Clift.

Noah Taylor, who played Darby on “Peaky Blinders,” will portray her husband and fellow writer George Johnston.

Ihlen died in July 2016 at 81. Cohen died later that same year on Nov. 7 at 82.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2023.

David Friend, The Canadian Press