“The Flash” is bringing in a new villain for Barry Allen to battle, introducing the first openly gay character on the show in the process.
“Smash” alum Andy Mientus has been cast to play Hartley Rathaway, the DC villain who also goes by Pied Piper, a network representative tells TheWrap.
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Rathaway was left hearing-impaired by the same S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator that gave Barry (Grant Gustin) super speed. But being a genius in science, he creates a catalogue of sonic weapons to punish his former mentor Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) — by taking on his new protege, The Flash.
Mientus’ Pied Piper will appear in the eleventh and twelfth episodes of “The Flash’s” first season. His casting comes on the heels of the series bringing on board “Alias” alum Victor Garber to play the other half of the Justice League duo known as Firestorm.
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Mientus is known for his role as Kyle Bishop on NBC’s “Smash” and has since made recurring appearances on “Anger Management” and “Chasing Life.” He is represented by Abrams Artists and Soffer/Namoff Entertainment.