HBO’s THE OUTSIDER Gets A Stacked Cast With Cynthia Erivo, Paddy Considine, And More
HBO's upcoming miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Outsider just landed an additional 10 cast members, including Cynthia Erivo, Paddy Considine, Julianne Nicholson, and more. Deadline has the full report on the latest casting news for the series, co-created by Richard Price (The Night Of) and Jack Bender (Mr. Mercedes), with Jason Bateman executive producing. As previously announced, Ben Mendelsohn will star, possibly opposite Bateman, who will direct the first two episodes. The story follows a private investigator and a local cop as they investigate the brutal murder of a young boy. The investigation becomes increasingly sinister as evidence points toward a supernatural predator.
Cynthia Erivo, who knocked the wind out of everyone in last year's Bad Times at the El Royale and Widows, will play Holly Gibney – a highly-skilled and intelligent amateur sleuth who also appears in King's Mr. Mercedes trilogy. It's worth noting two things here: Jack Bender's involvement, even if it's unlikely that there will be any overt references to the Mr. Mercedes series; and Erivo's casting in a role originally written as a white woman – and easily the best role in the whole book. Bill Camp, who previously appeared in The Night Of, will play lawyer Howie Gold. Mare Winningham is Jeannie Anderson, wife of Detective Ralph Anderson, the lead protagonist, presumably played by Mendelsohn. Paddy Considine will play Claude Bolton, a witness to the murder of the young boy. Jeremy Bobb (The Knick) will play unorthodox PI Alec Pelley. Also co-starring are Yul Vazquez (I Am the Night) as police officer Yune Sablo, Marc Menchaca (Ozark) as Anderson's rival colleague Jack Hoskins, Hetienne Park (Hannibal) as Tomika Collins, and Michael Esper (Trust) as D.A. Bill Samuels.
Whew, that's a lot of info – but if you're a fellow King-head, it's damn interesting. Also of note: Bateman was previously reported as potentially co-starring in the series, and although the latest report doesn't confirm that to be the case, I reckon he'd probably be playing Terry Maitland, a local Little League baseball coach and the lead suspect in the investigation. His wife, Mercy Maitland, will be played by Julianne Nicholson. We'll keep you posted as more info (and a premiere date, hopefully) becomes available.
