HBO has found its missionary.
The premium cable network has tapped Ben Walker to star in its Cold War drama pilot The Missionary, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
From Charles Randolph (The Interpreter), Stephen Levinson, Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Wahlberg, the 1960s-set drama revolves around Ben, an American missionary who gets caught up in Cold War intrigue while helping a young woman escape East Berlin.
Walker, whose credits include the title role in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, will star as Ben.
Randolph will pen the script, with Levinson, Gladwell and Wahlberg on board to executive produce for HBO and Levinson's Leverage and Wahlberg's Closest to the Hole banners.
The WME and Inspire-repped actor's credits include Kinsey, The Notorious Bettie Page and Flags of Our Fathers. The drama, should it move to series, would mark his first regular TV role.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
