Three More Cast Members Join American Gods on Starz
Starz and FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) announced today that Sean Harris (“The Borgias,” Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) has been cast as Mad Sweeney, Yetide Badaki (“Aquarius,” “Masters of Sex”) as Bilquis, and Bruce Langley (Deadly Waters) as Technical Boy in “American Gods,” the upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel.
They join the previously announced Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon), Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday), and Emily Browning (Laura Moon). The series begins shooting next month.
Harris plays Mad Sweeney, a down on his luck leprechaun, who is having a hard time understanding how he lost his charm and way. Always up for a good fight, Sweeney is never deprived while in the employment of Mr. Wednesday.
Badaki plays Bilquis, an ancient goddess of love who craves the worship she inspired in eras long gone and is eager to find that same relevance in today’s world.
Langley will play Technical Boy, a New God who is purveyor of all things technology. Desperate to prove himself and hungry for respect and power, he struggles to keep his impulsivity and petulance in check, making him dangerously unpredictable.
Gaiman’s American Gods has been translated into over 30 languages and earned numerous accolades including Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Awards for Best Novel. The plot posits a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity, and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.
“American Gods” is produced by FremantleMedia North America. Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”) and Michael Green (“The River,” “Kings,” “Heroes”) are writers and showrunners. David Slade (“Hannibal,” The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) is directing the pilot and additional episodes. FMNA’s Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk are executive producing the series along with Fuller, Green, Slade, and Gaiman. Senior Vice Presidents of Original Programming Marta Fernandez and Ken Segna are the Starz executives in charge of “American Gods.” Starz retains all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project. FremantleMedia is distributing the series worldwide.
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