He’s stolen scenes in the likes of Midnight In Paris and The Bourne Legacy and he was one of the standout stars from David Fincher’s Netflix series House Of Cards. Now Corey Stoll is getting his shot at full on TV leading man status, lining up the starring role in The Strain.
Adapted by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan from the trilogy of novels they wrote, The Strain follows Dr Ephraim Goodweather (Stoll), the head of the Centre For Disease Control team stationed in New York.
When his CDC crew is called out to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak on a recently landed plane, Goodweather discovers that it means an ancient, evil strain of vampirism is surging back into the world. With the curse spreading quickly, the good doctor and an assembly of civilians must fight back.
“To me, having the right lead for The Strain series was perhaps the most important creative task,” del Toro tells Deadline. “To be able to secure the perfect actor in Corey Stoll sets the project on the right track. To embody a character like Ephraim Goodweather – who transitions through every emotion and situation imaginable, and which anchors the narrative of the series – requires amazing talent and craft. Corey has both in spades as he has demonstrated it over and over again.”
Del Toro plans to direct the pilot and US network FX is inching ever closer to picking the show up as a series, with word that Carlton Cuse already has the writing staff in place and is working on scripts. Given that this is the network behind the likes of Sons Of Anarchy and Justified, we’re hopeful this could be something great.
Stoll will next be seen on the big screen in Sundance pic C.O.G., with Liam Neeson in Non-Stop and alongside Jason Bateman and Tina Fey in dysfunctional family comedy This Is Where I Leave You.
**Update: **Stoll's got some company in the show now, as Lost veteran Kevin Durand is aboard to play an exterminator who joins the fight against the vamp virus.