Corey Stoll has landed the lead role in FX’s pilot adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s “The Strain.”
Production on the vampire thriller is expected to begin in September, with FX placing high hopes on the pilot, which will be adapted by del Toro and Hogan, with del Toro directing.
Stoll will play Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, head of a Center for Disease Control task force charged with investigating a viral outbreak that bears a mighty suspicious resemblance to vampirism. The strain spreads and it’s up to Goodweather and his team to save, well, humanity. No pressure.
“To me, having the right lead for The Strain series was perhaps the most important creative task,” blurbs del Toro. “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.”
Stoll is riding a string of strong reviews dating back to NBC’s short-lived “Law & Order: Los Angeles” and his role as Ernest Hemingway in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris.” Most recently seen in Netflix’s “House of Cards,” Stoll also appeared in the Sundance feature “C.O.G.” He has upcoming feature roles lined up in “This Is Where I Leave You” and “The Good Lie.”