Thandie Newton Joins Cast of HBO's WESTWORLD

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thandi Newton is the latest to join the all-star cast of HBO's new drama pilot WESTWORLD, from J.J. Abrams. Also in the cast are Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, Demetrius Grosse, Kyle Bornheimer, Currie Graham, Lena Georgas, Steven Ogg, James Marsden, Timothy Lee DePriest, and Eddie Rouse.

In Michael Crichton's original 1973 movie,WESTWORLDwas "set in the near future at a high-tech, highly realistic amusement part called Delos that features androids that are nearly identical to human beings."WESTWORLD was previously adapted into the 1980 drama series BEYOND WESTWORLD, which also incorporated elements from the film's sequel FUTUREWORLD.

Newton will take on the role of "Maeve Millay, a beautiful and razor-sharp woman with a genius for reading people and a knack for survival. Maeve is the Westworld madame whose seen-it-all-before worldview is about to be truly challenged."

The project comes from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, Warner Bros. TV and LOST's Bryan Burk, with PERSON OF INTEREST's Jonathan Nolan set to direct and co-write the pilot with Lisa Joy. Jerry Weintraub, who has been gunning for the series for years, will also produce.

Newton made her film debut in Flirting (1991). She gained international recognition in the Merchant Ivory production of Jefferson in Paris as Sally Hemings, which led to her being cast in Jonathan Demme's Beloved (1998), in which she played the title character with co-stars Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. Newton was honoured with a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006 for her role in Crash. She currently stars in DirecTV's original series Rogue.

Photo Courtesy of DirecTV