Vera Farmiga Joins Cast of A&E's BATES MOTEL

As first reported on TVGuide.com, Vera Farmiga has joined the cast of A&E's upcoming series BATES MOTEL. The actress will portray 'Norma Louise Bates', described as the "very hot" mother of young Norman Bates. 

Commented Carlton Cuse, executive producer of the series, "We are delighted to welcome Vera Farmiga to Bates Motel. She is a phenomenal talent who has demonstrated incredible range and intelligence in a number of landmark film roles, and we couldn't be more excited to have her join our project."

The show is described as a prequel to the 1960 classic Alfred Hitchcock film 'Psycho.' In the pilot episode, 16-year-old Norman and his mother move to a rural town in Northern California and buy the run-down motel. Teases Cuse, "we're reinterpreting the mythology a bit and we might discover that Norman has a sibling."

Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise, followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover. She was also cast in the 2001 thriller 15 Minutes.

Her other film credits include the 2003 comedy Dummy, the 2004 drama Down to the Bone, the 2006 crime thriller The Departed, the 2007 horror Joshua, and the 2008 drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Farmiga gained critical acclaim following her work in the 2009 comedy-drama Up in the Air, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She also starred as Kate Coleman in Orphan in 2009 and appeared in the 2011 thriller/action movie Source Code, as Capt. Colleen Goodwin.