Corey Stoll - H 2012
Getty ImagesAfter fielding multiple offers this pilot season, House of Cards breakout star Corey Stoll has landed at FX.
The actor, who was offered several broadcast drama pilot leads, has been tapped to star in FX’s adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan‘s The Strain, the network announced Thursday.
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First published in 2009, the book series centers on a vampire virus that infects New York and the CDC doctor, Ephraim “Eph” Goodweather, who investigates the case. Del Toro and Hogan, who co-penned the three-book series, will co-write the pilot, with Bates Motel‘s Carlton Cuse on board as showrunner. Del Toro will direct the pilot, which hails from FX Productions.
Stoll will play Goodweather, the head of the CDC’s Canary Team in New York who is called upon to investigate a viral outbreak connected to an evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph will lead a team of New Yorkers as it wages a war and defends humanity.
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“To me, having the right lead for The Strain series was perhaps the most important creative task,” del Toro said in announcing the casting. “To be able to secure the perfect actor in Corey Stoll sets the project on the right track. To embody a character like Ephraim Goodweather — who transitions through every emotion and situation imaginable and who anchors the narrative of the series — requires amazing talent and craft. Corey has both in spades, as he has demonstrated over and over again.”
FX Networks president and GM John Landgraf told reporters in March that The Strain, which is prepping to film its pilot, already had assembled a writing staff and picked up additional scripts, a strong sign the pilot will earn a series order.
Repped by UTA and Suskin Management, Stoll most recently earned rave reviews for his role in Netflix’s original drama House of Cards. His credits also include Sundance’s COG, Law & Order: LA and The Glass Chin.
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