Wes Bentley is heading back to HBO.
Following his role in the premium cable network's failed pilot Tilda, The Hunger Games actor has nabbed the starring role in Ryan Murphy's drama pilot Open, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Open is described as a multi-character exploration of the complex, ever-evolving landscape of sexuality, monogamy and intimacy in relationships. Murphy and Lauren Gussis (Dexter) penned the pilot and will executive produce.
STORY: HBO Gives Pilot Order to Ryan Murphy's Sexuality Drama 'Open'
Bentley will play the handsome but arrogant Evan Foster, a bit of a blowhard who loves espousing his theories on human sexuality.
Glee and American Horror Story's Dante Di Loreto will executive produce for Ryan Murphy Television and 20th Television's cable arm Fox 21. (Murphy is under an overall deal at 20th.)
HBO ordered the drama to pilot in April. Should it move forward, it would mark Murphy's third series on the air, joining Glee and FX's American Horror Story. Oxygen, meanwhile, has yet to make a formal decision about the future of unscripted entry The Glee Project, while NBC recently canceled The New Normal after one season.
Open marks Murphy's second project with HBO, joining his adaptation of Larry Kramer's Tony-winning play The Normal Heart. Production on Normal Heart, which Murphy will executive produce and direct, will begin this year with a premiere eyed for 2014. Jason Blum, Dede Gardner and Di Loreto also will executive produce.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit