Melbourne actor Alex Williams transforms into Shane Warne for spin king telemovie

Alex Williams has transformed into the late spin king Shane Warne for an upcoming telemovie, complete with bleached blonde hair, tan and zinc sunscreen.

First pictures of the actor who will play cricket legend Shane Warne in an upcoming telemovie have surfaced.

With bleached blonde hair, a slight tan and zinc sunscreen on his lips, Melbourne actor Alex Williams transformed into the spin king for Nine’s two-part drama series Warnie.

Other reveals include Marny Kennedy as Warne’s wife Simone, Jacquie Brennan as Warne’s mother Brigitte, Shanti Kali as Warne’s girlfriend — British actor Elizabeth Hurley — and Tom Stokes as Australia cricket great Steve Waugh.

Channel Nine, which will screen the series later this year, also unveiled plot lines for both Warnie chapters.

Alex Williams as Shane Warne

Marny Kennedy will play Simone Warne.

“Shane Warne is a knockabout kid from the Melbourne suburbs who dreams of being a professional footy player,” a synopsis for part one Warnie says.

“As a naturally gifted teenage athlete, he is on his way to achieving his dream, until rejection brings his world crashing down.

“Shane manages to fight his way back, in a different sport: cricket. He digs in, works at his craft, learns from the best and finally makes the national team. From there he becomes a superstar of the game. With his larrikin attitude and competitive spirit, he brings a whole new level of excitement, danger and fun to the sport — in the process, becoming famous around the world.

It adds: “But life for an elite sportsman can be wildly unpredictable and with one or two errors of judgment, Shane puts his entire career at risk. A genius on the field, can he survive the crises that face him off-field?

The second part opens with Warne “struggling with injury and the relentless gaze of the public.”

Tom Stokes as Steve Waugh in Shane Warne telemovie.

Shanti Kali as Elizabeth Hurley.

It notes: “Shane’s career has reached unimaginable heights. Now, one simple mistake finds him facing the biggest crisis yet. In the full glare of the media spotlight, Shane deals with controversy both on and off the field, while his body struggles to cope with the immense strain of a huge physical and mental workload.

“As his critics grow louder and the competition more fierce, Shane battles to keep his family together and secure his legacy as truly one of the greatest players of all time.”

As the telemovie was filmed last year, the project was briefly mired in controversy after Warne’s daughter Brooke slammed the biopic as disrespectful.

Shane Warne died suddenly, after suffering a heart attack, in March last year.

Brooke Warne said on Instagram last September: “Do any of you have any respect for Dad?

Or his family? Who did so much for Channel 9 and now you want to dramatise his life and our families (sic) life 6 months after he passed away? You are beyond disrespectful.”

Nine executives went into “crisis talks” over the project, with Warne’s former manager James Erskine meeting with the network’s director of television Michael Healy and head of drama Andy Ryan on behalf of the family.

Warne’s family later confirmed they’d offered support for the controversial series.