Showtime's aptly timed drama pilot The Vatican is adding to its cast.
The same day the Vatican named Jorge Mario Bergoglio its new pope, Scottish actor Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting) has joined the ranks of the Kyle Chandler starrer.
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The Vatican, a contemporary thriller about spirituality, power and politics, is set against the modern-day political machinations within the Catholic Church. The potential series would explore the relationships and rivalries in addition to the mysteries and miracles behind the institution.
Friday Night Lights alum Chandler stars as Cardinal Thomas Duffy, a charismatic archbishop of New York, with Bremner boarding as Monsignor Alberico Iemma, who is charged with the weighty and complex job of investigating and pronouncing miracles for the Church.
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The role marks Bremner's first American television gig following roles in such features Jack the Giant Slayer, Mike Newell's Great Expectations, Alien vs. Predator and Pearl Harbor. He joins a cast that also includes Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) as Duffy's sister, Kayla; Sebastian Koch (A Good Day to Die Hard) as Cardinal Marco Malerba, the Vatican's secretary of state; and Matthew Goode (A Single Man) as papal secretary Bernd Koch.
Paul Attanasio (House) penned the one-hour script, with Ridley Scott (Prometheus, The Good Wife) on board to direct his first television pilot. Production on the Sony Pictures Television entry is expected to begin soon. Attanasio, Scott and David Zucker (The Good Wife) will exec produce.
Showtime has yet to cast the pope for The Vatican.
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Bremner, who next stars opposite Chris Evans in the Weinstein Co.'s Snowpiercer, is repped by Global Artists Agency, Alchemy Entertainment and Independent Talent Group.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
