After playing Commander Thread in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” Patrick St. Esprit has been cast as the Secretary of Defense alongside Sela Ward’s President in “Independence Day 2,” TheWrap has learned.
Roland Emmerich is directing the sequel for 20th Century Fox, which will release the action-packed blockbuster on June 24, 2016.
Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe and Jessie Usher star along fellow franchise newcomers Travis Tope, Joey King, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lance Lim and Mckenna Grace, while returning cast members from the original include Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox and Judd Hirsch.
Dean Devlin wrote the first draft of the film with Emmerich, while James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright wrote the most recent draft. James Vanderbilt also had a hand in writing the movie, which Emmerich and Devlin are producing with Harald Kloser.
St. Esprit has been busy of late, wrapping Todd Phillips‘ “Arms and the Dudes” starring Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, as well as John Travolta’s revenge thriller “I Am Wrath.” He’ll next be seen alongside Dwayne Johnson on HBO’s new series “Ballers,” and he also co-stars on “Narcos,” the upcoming Netflix series starring Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook.
The veteran character actor has also worked with top directors such as Paul Greengrass (“United 93,” “Green Zone”), J.J. Abrams (“Super 8”), Ivan Reitman (“Draft Day”) and Joe Carnahan (“Smokin’ Aces”).
St. Esprit is represented by the management team of Justice & Ponder as well as Abrams Artists Agency, which recently expanded its diverse offerings to include an alternative, digital and licensing division.