ABC's 'Gothica' Finds Its Dorian Gray, Frankenstein

4:30 PM PST 2/21/2013 by Lesley Goldberg

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Chris Egan and Tom Ellis will co-star in the gothic soap that weaves together legends from Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde and other myths.

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Chris Egan and Tom Ellis

ABC's gothic monster soap has cast two of its leads.

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Kings alum Chris Egan has landed the role of Dorian Gray, while EastEnders' Tom Ellis has been tapped to portray Victor Frankenstein in the high-concept drama Gothica, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

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The pilot is described as a sexy gothic soap set in the present day that weaves together a mythology that incorporates the legends of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray, among others.

Egan's Dorian Gray -- the character who first rose to fame in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray -- is described as a beautifully charming and devastatingly sexy man with a smile like a switchblade. He's an enigmatic playboy who develops a relationship with Grace Van Helsing and attempts to help her figure out who killed her family.

Ellis -- whose name recently circulated as a new addition to Downton Abbey -- will portray Victor Frankenstein, a good-looking guy with intense eyes and a brilliant doctor who's trying to find a way to bring his late daughter, Anna, back to life. Now married to Madeline Usher, he used to have a relationship with Grace and is still in love with her.

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Egan, repped by WME, Trokia, Anonymous Content and Jackoway Tyerman, also had roles in the ABC's failed pilot Beauty and the Beast as well as features Letters to Juliet and Crush. Welsh actor Ellis, repped by Hamilton Hodell and Anonymous Content, starred on EastEnders, Pulling, Merlin and Gates.

They join the previously cast Raza Jaffrey (Smash) in the pilot.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice's Matt Lopez will pen the pilot for ABC Studios and executive produce alongside the Mark Gordon Co.'s Mark Gordon. Anand Tucker will direct the pilot, which is slated to film in Montreal.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit