Much like it was a joke that Christopher Plummer (RIP) was going to be the guy that took over all of the Kevin Spacey roles after that actor was blacklisted following sexual assault allegations, it looks like there is a new market for handsome actors willing to take over high-profile roles for Armie Hammer. And the latest actor to join that group is Dan Stevens.
According to Variety, Dan Stevens is signed on to star opposite Julia Roberts and Sean Penn in the upcoming Starz series, “Gaslit.” Stevens takes on the role in the series that tackles the Watergate scandal that ended the tenure of President Richard Nixon. Stevens is going to play John Dean, a young White House Counsel that is torn between doing the right thing or protecting the President. Roberts is set to play Martha Mitchell, a socialite and the wife of then-Attorney General John Mitchell. She’s the woman that is credited for first sounding the alarm and leading to investigations into Nixon.
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Of course, as alluded to above, Armie Hammer was originally attached to this role. However, his involvement ended when sexual misconduct and assault claims were alleged against him recently. Though he denies them, the accusations have been enough to ensure Hammer’s acting schedule has been wiped clean.
Stevens is probably best known for his TV work in series such as “Downton Abbey” and “Legion.” However, he’s appeared in a number of solid films including the criminally underrated “The Guest,” as well as “Eurovision Song Contest,” “The Rental,” “Apostle,” and the recent festival film, “I Am Your Man.” Needless to say, with such an eclectic filmography, it should serve as no surprise that he would be interested in adding a period, political thriller to the arsenal.
“Gaslit” is created and showrun by Robbie Pickering, with Matt Ross on board to direct. A release date has yet to be revealed. The project was recently picked up for a full limited series run, but a production start date hasn’t been announced.