First look at John Malkovich as Poirot in BBC One's 'The ABC Murders'

The BBC have revealed the first look at what John Malkovich will look like in the iconic role of Detective Hercule Poirot in the upcoming adaptation of 'The ABC Murders'.

The Oscar-nominated actor appears to be embracing the goatee for the role, going in a different direction from the memorable moustaches of his predecessors David Suchet and Kenneth Branagh.

There he is now:

Other stars to have taken on the role of Poirot include Orson Welles, Tony Randall, Albert Finney, Ian Holm and Peter Ustinov.

The upcoming three-part drama is written by Sarah Phelps, who previously adapted other Agatha Christie works 'The Witness For the Prosecution as well as 'And Then There Were None'.

It will see Malkovich's Poirot on the hunt for a sadistic killer who leaves a copy of the ABC Railway guide with every body.

"Set in the seething, suspicious early 1930s, The ABC Murders is a brutal story of violence and lies, the long shadow of the past and the slaughter to come," Phelps has teased.

"At its centre, one of the most familiar, famous characters in crime fiction. We may all think we know Poirot but do we really know Hercule?"

The ensemble cast also includes Harry Potter's Rupert Grint as Poirot sceptic Inspector Crome, Broadchurch's Andrew Buchan, Skins' Freya Mavor and Twin Peaks: The Return's Eamon Farren.