You can't say Jackie Earle Haley doesn't like to mix it up with his roles, at least not given today's dual announcement. The actor is locking down a part in The Dark Tower film and has also signed up to be a villain on the new live-action Tick TV series.
Let's scale the Tower news first. The adaptation of Stephen King's sprawling story (the book series also spawned graphic novels, and elements show up all over his work) charts gunslinger Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) and protégé Jake Chambers' (Tom Taylor) quest to locate the titular tower, a central point in the universe, before dark forces (including Matthew McConaughey's main villain Man In Black) invade and destroy it, wiping out reality.
Nothing has been announced about what Haley might be doing in the movie, though he joins a cast that also includes Abbey Lee. According to King's own Twitter feed, director Nikolaj Arcel is cranking the cameras now on the film.
And then there's Haley's second new job. The Tick sees Ben Edlund bringing his offbeat hero back to screens for Amazon, with Peter Serafinowicz inheriting the superhero suit. Haley has scored a regular gig as main villain The Terror, a recognizable face from the comics and the ancient evildoer who commands a massive criminal underworld. The role was played by Armin Shimerman in the short-lived 2001 version, but Edlund is hoping for a longer run with Amazon.
The new TV job will require some schedule juggling, as Haley also has a recurring role on Preacher, where he's on to play Odin Quincannon in the series. Still, if anyone can switch between odd characters with relative ease, it's Jackie Earle Haley.