Few actors slip as easily between the dark side and the light (and everywhere in the middle) as Colin Farrell, but his newest project promises to be among his more villainous roles. “Lean on Pete” director Andrew Haigh has cast him in the BBC whaling miniseries “The North Water” as harpooner Henry Drax. This isn’t the first television series for either Farrell or Haigh. Farrell last appeared on the small screen in the less-than-stellar second season of “True Detective.” Meanwhile, Haigh drew praise as co-creator of another HBO series, “Looking.”
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Set in 1850, the four-part series is based on Ian McGuire’s acclaimed novel of the same name, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and chosen as one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year. Here’s the publisher’s plot description:
“Behold the man: stinking, drunk, and brutal. Henry Drax is a harpooner on the Volunteer, a Yorkshire whaler bound for the rich hunting waters of the arctic circle. Also aboard for the first time is Patrick Sumner, an ex-army surgeon with a shattered reputation, no money, and no better option than to sail as the ship’s medic on this violent, filthy, and ill-fated voyage.
In India, during the Siege of Delhi, Sumner thought he had experienced the depths to which man can stoop. He had hoped to find temporary respite on the Volunteer, but rest proves impossible with Drax on board. The discovery of something evil in the hold rouses Sumner to action. And as the confrontation between the two men plays out amid the freezing darkness of an arctic winter, the fateful question arises: who will survive until spring?”
There isn’t currently news on who has been cast as lead Patrick Sumner. The series is set to begin production this fall.