With "Downton Abbey" now in the rearview for Dan Stevens, the actor is hoping the success of the hit drama can help translate into a big screen career. He's already nabbed a role in the WikiLeaks drama "The Fifth Estate," and now he's shifting gears for a crime story set right in the heart of New York City.
Stevens is in talks to star opposite Liam Neeson in "A Walk Among the Tombstones," which despite its title, is not a western. You may have forgotten about this, but it was first announced last spring, and the project brings the underappreciated Scott Frank ("The Lookout," "Out of Sight," "The Wolverine") back into action behind the camera, adaptating the book by Lawrence Block about P.I. Matthew Scudder, who's hired by a drug dealer to find the men who kidnapped him and murdered his wife. There's no word yet on Stevens' role, but there are some major roles to fill including Jim Faber, Scudder's AA sponsor and TJ, his associate who does more of the technical legwork than Scudder can.
Continuing Neeson's run of gritty good guys taking down bad dudes, this one begins prodcution next month. And while we'd normally shrug this one off, the involvement of Frank has us hoping this is will be an elevated genre flick. Developing for years (Joe Carnahan and D.J. Caruso were both attached at various points, while Harrison Ford once considered starring), here's hoping this mix of talent gets it right and delivers on the promise of Frank's enjoyably pulpy work. [Variety]