Oscar-winner Diane Keaton has signed up to play a nun opposite Jude Law in a new drama about a fictional pope.

Keaton, who won the best actress Oscar in 1977 for Annie Hall, will play Sister Mary in the eight-part series The Young Pope.

Jude Law
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The show, directed by Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, is the story of the fictional, American-born Pope Pius XIII played by Jude.

Paolo described the show, a co-production by Sky, HBO and Canal +, as a story of “faith” and how people “handle and manipulate power”.

She shot to fame in The Godfather, playing the wife of Al Pacino’s mafia boss, and her career includes hits such as The First Wives Club and Marvin’s Room.