You know that a TV show is starting to make an impression when the cast start appearing in casting announcements everywhere. Alumni of acclaimed hits like “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” and “The Wire” are snapping up supporting roles in big movies everywhere you look, and it seems like the latest hit is AMC‘s “The Killing,” a remake of the cult hit Danish show, which follows the investigation of a single murder case.
Only yesterday, we heard that the show’s lead, theater veteran Mireille Enos, who plays Detective Sarah Linden, would play Brad Pitt‘s wife in “World War Z,” and now news has come that Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman, who makes his American debut on the show as Linden’s partner Stephen Holder, has landed a high profile gig, as another late addition to the cast of “Safe House,” the currently filming espionage thriller that toplines Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.
Of course, Kinnaman’s casting isn’t a huge surprise, seeing as the film is directed by Daniel Espinosa, whose thriller “Snabba Cash” stars Kinnaman, and was the role that launched him overseas. He came close to landing the leads in both “Thor” and George Miller‘s now-delayed “Mad Max” sequel/reboot, and will next appear in the Russia-set alien invasion picture “The Darkest Hour,” alongside Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby and Max Minghella. Espinosa and Kinnaman seem to be close (“Snabba Cash” sequels are planned, eventually), so it’s only natural that he’d find a role for his star somewhere in his Hollywood debut.
The actor will play a man who runs the “Safe House” of the title — not a huge part, but a good opportunity to get his face further out there nonetheless. He joins a thoroughly decent cast which also features Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick, Liam Cunningham, Ruben Blades, Tanit Phoenix and, as of yesterday, Vera Farmiga. Filming is currently underway in South Africa, and it’ll hit theaters on February 10th next year. [The Hollywood Reporter]
