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Ciaran Hinds, Paul Ready and Adam Nagaitis have also signed on for the drama.
Jared Harris is returning to AMC.
The Mad Men grad has signed on to star in the network's anthology series The Terror, it was announced Thursday.
Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones), Paul Ready (Cuffs) and Adam Nagaitis (Houdini and Doyle) have also come on board the project.
Based on Dan Simmons' bestselling novel, The Terror takes place in 1847, when a Royal Naval expedition crew looking for the Northwest Passage is attacked by a mysterious predator that stalks the ships and their crew. A suspenseful and desperate game of survival subsequently unfolds.
Harris will play Francis Crozier, Captain of the HMS Terror and second in command of the expedition. He is a brilliant sailor and captain, but also an Irishman who has reached his glass ceiling in the British Royal Navy and has become disillusioned with its pomp and politics. The role brings Harris back to AMC, where he starred on Mad Men for three seasons. He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance on the acclaimed drama in 2012.
Hinds will play Sir John Franklin; Ready is set as Henry Goodsir; and Nagaitis will portray Cornelius Hickey. All three characters are integral members of the crew aboard the ships. As previously announced, Outlander and Game of Thrones favorite Tobias Menzies will play James Fitzjames, a member of the Royal Navy.
“The story of man's battle with nature and an unknown predator makes The Terror a gripping and imaginative series, and calls for a special kind of actor,” Joel Stillerman, AMC and SundanceTV president of original programming and development, said. “We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Jared Harris and look forward to watching him transform into the complex and fascinating character of Captain Crozier. We are also delighted to work with this versatile and talented cast and share with audiences the despair and horror inside this journey of survival, hope and recognition.”
AMC ordered The Terror to series back in March. David Kajganich (True Story) will write and also serve as co-showrunner with Soo Hugh (The Killing). The duo will exec produce with Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker of Scott Free Productions, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert of Emjag Productions and Entertainment 360's Guymon Casady. The three shingles will produce in association with AMC Studios.
Production on the 10-part series begins this winter in Budapest for a 2017 debut.
Harris, whose other credits include Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Lincoln, will next be seen in Netflix's The Crown. He is repped by ICM and Gateway Management Company.
AMC
