Franco, whose film credits include Milk and Pineapple Express, was expected to make his Broadway debut two years ago, in 2011, alongside Nicole Kidman in Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth, but the production was abandoned.

BBC: James Franco to make Broadway debut

Also announced for the Old Vic's 2013 season is Lindsay Posner directing Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy and Kim Cattrall starring in Tennessee Williams's Sweet Bird of Youth, directed by Marianne Elliott.

BBC: Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones to reunite at Old Vic