Ed Harris is heading to TV in a villainous role. The “Apollo 13″ and “The Abyss” actor has signed on to join HBO’s “Westworld” in key evil role, Variety has confirmed. He joins an already-announced cast of Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright and Shannon Woodward.
Harris will star as The Man in Black, described as the “distillation of pure villainy into one man.”
J.J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bad Robot’s Bryan Burk are producing the adaptation of Michael Crichton’s 1973 film, which followed a robot malfunction that led to terror in a theme park. “Person of Interest’s” Johnathon Nolan will produce and direct the Warner Bros. Television one-hour drama, and co-wrote the pilot with exec producer Lisa Joy. Kathy Lingg serves as co-executive producer, with Athena Wickham as a producer, David Coatsworth as co-executive producer and line producer and Susie Ekins as co-producer.
The role is a return to HBO for Harris. The actor previously appeared in the premium cable network’s “Game Change,” for which he garnered an Emmy and Golden Globe nomination. He can next be seen opposite Liam Neeson and Joel Kinnaman in “Run All Night.”
