Michael Shannon joins 'Little Drummer Girl,' new drama from 'Night Manager' team
A trio of award nominees and winners including Michael Shannon are set to star in BBC and AMC series “The Little Drummer Girl.” Produced by The Ink Factory, the spy series reunites the team that made the critically acclaimed “The Night Manager.”
Shannon will join Florence Pugh and Alexander Skarsgard in the upcoming high-end scripted project, which, like “The Night Manager,” is based on a novel by John le Carré. Park Chan-wook (“Old Boy”) will direct the six-part series in his first TV effort.
Shannon received Academy Award nominations for “Nocturnal Animals” and “Revolutionary Road,” and stars in multi-nominated “The Shape of Water.” Pugh has just received a BAFTA nomination for “Lady Macbeth,” and Skarsgard just won a Golden Globe for his work on “Big Little Lies.”
“The Little Drummer Girl” follows brilliant young actress Charlie (Pugh) after she strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic. The man is Becker (Skarsgard), an Israeli intelligence officer, who entangles her in a complex and high-stakes plot orchestrated by Israeli spymaster Kurtz, played by Shannon.
“Michael is an actor of the highest caliber, and we are excited to welcome him to the stellar group of talent this project is amassing,” Simon and Stephen Cornwell, co-CEOs and founders of The Ink Factory, said in a statement. “Under the direction of a consummate auteur and opposite two equally dynamic actors, we are confident that he will channel the complex combination of tension and gravitas within Kurtz, which is shot through the narrative.”
Park added: “The first time I saw Michael was as one of the genius actors who delivered wonderful performances in ‘Revolutionary Road,’ and ever since I’ve remained his loyal fan. I believe Michael will make the perfect Kurtz, a man scarred by history and carrying burdens all too heavy on his shoulders, an Israeli ‘Captain Ahab’ obsessed by his biggest and most elusive nemesis yet.”
Laura Hastings-Smith (“Howards End”) will produce the series, which is being made in association with 127 Wall, the BBC and AMC. The Cornwells will both executive produce. Shannon is repped by CAA, Wetzel Entertainment Group and attorney David Krintzman of Morris Yorn.
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