‘Doctor Who’ season 8: John Hurt lands post-50th anniversary role on FX
John Hurt may be playing a super-secretive role as “The Doctor” (or at least one in name, but not in spirit) in the upcoming 50th anniversary special for “Doctor Who,” but it may be safe now to say not to expect him to stick around much longer than that. Why? The actor has scored himself a role in a major project over on FX.
In a statement Monday, it was announced that Hurt has been cast to appear in the FX series “The Strain” from Guillermo del Toro, where he will be playing the part of Professor “Abraham Setrakian,” a Holocaust survivor who may have some answers to an outbreak that reminds us of both “The Walking Dead” and “True Blood” at the same time. If you haven’t heard much about this show yet, check out the official logline below:
“The Strain is a high concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. When Eph realizes that this isn’t some new bioterror weapon, but something much older, something outside the reach of science, he teams with Abraham to fight back. As a plague of hungry and intelligent predators overwhelms New York, Eph, Abraham and a motley crew of everyday New Yorkers form a ragtag resistance – fighting monsters in the streets and in their homes, waging a war for the fate of humanity itself.”
Meanwhile, del Toro had the following to say about getting Hurt to sign on to the series:
“I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever … [Fellow writer] Chuck [Hogan] and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!”
While it is possible that Hurt shows up on “Doctor Who” in the future, we find it reasonably unlikely that we would see more of him on the show, especially with him working in a major role on another project. The Christmas special and the official start of season 8 will kick off later this year.
Do you want to see more John Hurt on TV, regardless of what show it is? If you want to see some hilarious video “auditions” to be the 12th Doctor, be sure to head on over to the link here.
Photo: BBC