Stage vet John Gallagher Jr. has signed on for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY helmer James Gunn's upcoming horror film THE BELKO EXPERIMENT, according to an announcement on Gunn's Facebook page.
Gunn wrote:
"A couple years ago John Gallagher Jr. auditioned for me for a role. You might know him from his fantastic work in the movie Short Term 12 or on the TV show The Newsroom. He didn't get the role that day - he wasn't right for the part - but when he walked out of the room I turned to the casting director and said, 'That's one of the best actors I've seen in my life, and perhaps the best audition I've ever seen.' I became determined to find a way to work with him.
"Well, I'm proud to announce that day is today, as John will play Mike Pelk, one of the leads of our film The Belko Experiment. The script was written by me, it's going to be directed by Greg McLean, and produced by myself and Peter Safran. I just came from a table read with John and a bunch of other talented actors, and I can't wait to get started - which we'll be doing in June in Bogota, Colombia! More cast and crew members to be announced soon!"
Variety writes that THE BELKO PROJECT follows "an American company in South America being mysteriously sealed off and its employees showing their true natures when they are ordered to kill each other or be killed themselves." Greg McLean will direct from Gunn's script.
Gallagher Jr., who will soon be seen in the movie VALENCIA, has recently starred in the TV series THE NEWSROOM, as well as the mini-series adaptation of OLIVE KITTERIDGE. Among his film credits are THE HEART MACHINE, SHORT TERM 12, MARGARET, JONAH HEX and more.
The actor has appeared on Broadway in JERUSALEM, AMERICAN IDIOT, SPRING AWAKENING (for which he won a Tony) and RABBIT HOLE. He has also taken the stage off-Broadway in FARRAGUT NORTH, PORT AUTHORITY and KIMBERLY AKIMBO.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski
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