Laurence Fishburne on 'Hannibal's' Case

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Laurence Fishburne

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Laurence Fishburne is on Hannibal Lecter's case.

NBC's upcoming Hannibal take has added the former CSI: Crime Scene Investigation actor to play Jack Crawford, the head of the FBI's behavioral sciences unit, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

Fishburne will recur in the role played by Dennis Farina (Manhunter), Scott Glenn (The Silence of the Lambs) and Harvey Keitel (Red Dragon) in the feature film takes based on the Thomas Harris novels.

Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen will play the psychiatrist-turned-serial killer in the 13-episode drama take from Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Hugh Dancy (The Big C) stars as Will Graham, the criminal profiler who is on the hunt for a serial killer with the FBI and enlists Dr. Lecter's help with the case.

Fishburne's Crawford is described as a tough cop who seems to have been born to hunt serial killers and lacking the type of empathy that informs the lives of both Will and Hannibal and knows he needs Will to be his bird-dog. His greatest mission is to stop sociopaths before they kill more -- even if that means sacrificing Will's psyche in the process.

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Fuller will write and executive produce alongside Martha De Laurentiis (Red Dragon and the big-screen feature Hannibal), Sara Colleton (Showtime's Dexter), Jesse Alexander (Lost) and Katie O'Connell. David Slade will direct and exec produce the NBC-Gaumont International Television co-production.

Fuller told fans at Comic-Con this month that he has seven seasons mapped out for Hannibal. "Season 1 is the bromance, Season 2 the horrible breakup," he teased of the retelling of Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon.  

For Fishburne, the TV role comes a year after his sudden departure from CBS' CSI. The Emmy-winning actor opted not to renew his deal to continue on the veteran procedural following a two-and-a-half-season run.

Fishburne is repped by Paradigm, Landmark Artists Management and Del Shaw.

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