Ruth Negga has been cast as the female lead in the AMC pilot ‘Preacher’, Aidan Gillen lands role in the new Guy Richie film and Damien Molony cast in a new HBO pilot.
Ruth Negga cast as female lead in AMC pilot ‘Preacher’
Ruth Negga has been cast as the female lead in ‘Preacher’, AMC’s drama pilot based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s cult 1990s comic. The project, from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, is about Jesse Custer, a conflicted Preacher in a small Texas town who merges with a creature that has escaped from heaven and develops the ability to make anyone do anything he says. Along with his ex-girlfriend, Tulip (Negga) — Jesse’s former and only true love — and an Irish vampire named Cassidy, the three embark on a journey to literally find God. Tulip is described as a “volatile, action-packed, sexified force of nature, a capable, unrepentant criminal with a love of fashion and ability to construct helicopter-downing bazookas out of coffee cans and corn shine who’s not afraid to steal, kill or corn cob-stab her way out of a bad situation”.
Negga is the first actor cast in ‘Preacher’, from Sony TV and AMC Studios. Rogen and Goldberg developed the project for television and will direct the pilot, written by Sam Catlin who serves as showrunner.
Rogen, Goldberg and Catlin executive produce with James Weaver, Neal Moritz, Vivian Cannon and Ori Marmur as well as Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Dillon co-executive produce.
Negga is well-known to Irish audiences for roles in ‘Love is the Drug’, ‘Love/Hate’ and ‘Noble’. She won the EFP Shooting Star Award in 2006 and an IFTA Award in 2012 for her acclaimed role as Shirley Bassey in the television movie ‘Shirley’. She has landed roles in many international projects over the past few years starring in ‘World War Z’ opposite Brad Pitt, ‘All Is by My Side’ opposite Andre Benjamin (which was shot in Dublin) and has a recurring role as Raina on ABC’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’.
Aidan Gillen for Guy Richie’s ‘King Arthur’
Aidan Gillen has been cast in Guy Richie's big-budget re-imagining of King Arthur.
Gillen, who has most recently starred as Charlie Haughey in the acclaimed RTÉ biopic ‘Charlie’ and is the lead in John Carney’s upcoming ‘Sing Street’, joins ‘Sons of Anarchy’ star Charlie Hunnam who will play the role of King Arthur, as well as Aussie actor Eric Bana, British actor Jude Law, and Djimon Hounsou,
Richie's King Arthur promises to be "a sweeping fantasy action adventure" and the story "introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur - and with it, his future".
Filming has begun at Warner Bros, Studios in the UK and will take in locations in Wales and Scotland. The film is slated for a July 22 2016 release.
Damien Molony set for HBO drama pilot
Irish actor Damien Molony has been cast alongside Eddie Izzard, Ever Carradine, Karen Gillan and Ewen Bremner in the pilot of a new planned series for US broadcaster HBO.
‘The Devil You Know’ is the working title for the series which is described as a "provocative period drama" and is centred on the infamous Salem witch trials of the 17th century.
Izzard plays Thomas Puttnam, with Carradine playing his wife Ann and Molony playing his son, Robert.
Molony is no stranger to big-budget television projects, previously starring ‘Ripper Street’, as well as the British television series’ ‘Being Human’ and ‘Suspects’. He is also slated to star in RTÉ’s new drama series ‘Clean Break’, which is currently in post-production.
