John Cusack will star in a series regular role as Dr. Kevin Christie in Amazon‘s upcoming show “Utopia.”
In “Utopia,” a group of young adults who meet online are mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization after they come into possession of a near-mythical cult underground graphic novel. They discover the conspiracy theories in the comic’s pages may actually be real and are forced into the dangerous, unique and ironic position of saving the world.
Cusack will play Christie, a charismatic, media-savvy and brilliant biotech mind who wants to change the world through science. He is the latest addition to the cast, after Rainn Wilson joined the project to play Michael Stearns and Sasha Lane is set to portray Jessica Hyde.
“Utopia” marks Cusack’s first starring role in a TV series. He is widely known for his roles in films like 1989’s “Say Anything” and 2000’s “High Fidelity,” the latter of which nabbed him Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Cusack has also appeared in movies such as “Being John Malkovich,” “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” Most recently, he starred in the pics “River Runs Red,” “Distorted” and the western “Never Grow Old” with Emile Hirsch. He is repped by ICM and Ziffren Brittenham.
“Utopia” is based on Dennis Kelly’s British series of the same name. Amazon ordered a nine-episode first season of the show in 2018. The series is a co-production between Endemol Shine North America and Kudos, an Endemol Shine Group U.K. production studio, and Amazon Studios. Gillian Flynn will serve as executive producer and showrunner with Kelly also set to executive produce. Jessica Rhoades, who collaborated with Flynn on “Sharp Objects,” will also executive produce along with Sharon Hall, Karen Wilson and Diederick Santer. Sharon Levy, president of unscripted and scripted television for Endemol Shine North America, will oversee production for Endemol Shine.
