Showtime announced today that Bill Nighy has joined the cast of “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” filling the same role as David Bowie in the 1976 film.
Nighy will play the brilliant Thomas Newton, the first alien to arrive on Earth in over 40 years who turns to Faraday (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to complete his original mission. The TV series is based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name.
“I was honored to be invited to play the part of Thomas Jerome Newton that glorious David Bowie made so famous,” said Nighy in a statement.
“I was keen to work with Chiwetel and Naomie again,” said Nighy. He previously worked with Ejiofor in 2003’s “Love Actually” and “Canterbury Tales” and with Harris in two “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
“I think the story is terrific and brilliantly expressed. I am an enthusiast for shows which extrapolate from current technology and give us plausible glimpses of a possible near future. It’s an important story which, as well as being highly entertaining, discusses the crucial issues of our time,” he added. “I like to think that the film makers of the original film would applaud Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet for their imaginative daring and loyal regard.”
The cast includes Jimmi Simpson, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olaleye, Kate Mulgrew and Clarke Peters.
“The Man Who Fell To Earth” is executive produced by Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet, John Hlavin, Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Chiwetel Ejiofor and STUDIOCANAL’s Rola Bauer and Françoise Guyonnet. The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Timberman/Beverly. STUDIOCANAL owns the rights for both Walter Tevis’ book as well as Nicolas Roeg’s iconic film.
