Maggie Gyllenhaal expected to star in vibrator film

Maggie Gyllenhaal is set to play the lead role in a new Victorian-era romantic comedy telling the story of the invention of the vibrator, according to reports.

The Hollywood actress, 32, who appeared in films including The Dark Knight and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, is said to have agreed to star in Hysteria alongside Jonathan Pryce and Rupert Everett.

The movie chronicles the invention of the vibrator, which was supposedly used by a doctor as a means of treating hysteria in women.

Jonathan Pryce will play her father, a GP, while Hugh Dancy is reported to be lined up as a doctor who has an affair with Gyllenhaal’s character. He and another doctor, played by Rupert Everett, are responsible for the accidental invention of the vibrator.

Gyllenhaal was quoted as saying: “I play a firecracker whose father is a doctor who is in the business of curing hysterical women. He cures them basically by getting them off and that actually happened.

“I end up having a sort of unexpected love affair with this guy who works for him, and who by mistake invents the vibrator.”

The actress, whose previous credits include The Pornographer: A Love Story, is also said to be preparing to feature alongside her husband, Peter Sarsgaard, in a film about the life of Bill Monroe, the blues musician.

The film, to be directed by Tanya Wexler, will commence production in October in London and Luxembourg, and is scheduled for release in 2011.