'Tyrant' FX Series Cast: Adam Rayner Lands Leading Role in Show from Producers of 'Homeland'
British actor Adam Rayner has been cast in the leading role for the pilot of Tyrant, FX's new political-drama from the creators of Homeland, Deadline reports.
The show is being produced by Gideon Raff and Howard Gordon and scripted by Craig Wright (Lost, Six Feet Under). Raff and Gordon are the executive producers of Homeland. The pilot, which is also being produced by Fox-21, will be filmed in Morrocco. The show is about an American family that gets pulled into the Middle-eastern political maelstrom when the dictator of an Arab state dies and his American son takes over.
Rayner most recently acted in Simon West-directed pilot of The Saint. He also co-starred opposite Melissa George on the BBC spy drama, Hunted.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Academy award winning filmmaker Ang Lee (Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain) would be directing the pilot of the show, but he dropped out of the project in May, citing fatigue as a reason:
"It is one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I've seen and one about which I was very excited," Lee said in a statement. "However, after spending over four years making and promoting 'Life of Pi,' I have recently realized that I need some rest."
When the show was still in its initial development stage FX's Executive Vice President of programming, Nick Grad, who showed immense faith in the project, said:
"The brilliant and wholly original concept just blew us away. It's pretty amazing when you read a script and can instantly imagine it becoming one of the best shows on television."
