The Abe of 'Killing Lincoln' will portray Dr. Alan Farragut, an emotionally troubled CDC pathologist, on the new show from Ronald D. Moore.
- Jul 18, 2013
AceShowbiz - "Helix" has cast its first actor. Billy Campbell, who is known for playing politician Darren Richmond on AMC's "The Killing", is cast in the lead role on the upcoming Syfy sci-fi thriller.
Campbell will play Dr. Alan Farragut, an emotionally troubled CDC pathologist. According to Deadline, Farragut is just getting over a failed marriage and the affair his wife had with his brother, but now his brother needs his help after becoming infected with a deadly disease.
He will start filming the 13-episode series in Montreal on July 29 for a scheduled January 2014 premiere. It's unclear if the Abraham Lincoln of Nat Geo's original movie "Killing Lincoln" will attend "Helix" panel at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Syfy has recently dropped two new promo videos which still keep the plot details under wraps.
Executive produced by "Battlestar Galactica" creator Ronald D. Moore along with "Lost" co-executive producer Steven Maeda, Lynda Obst ("Contact") and Cameron Porsandeh, "Helix" follows a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control. When they travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak, they quickly find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind's salvation or total annihilation.
Moore tells io9 about how gory the show is, "It will have some gore in it. There's some pretty nasty things that happen to some people who are infected with this, and the attempts to save them and so on." He continues, "But it's not really the stock and trade of it. It's really more of a thriller. It's more of a character piece about people trapped in an isolated area. And trying to depend on each other, and realizing that some of them aren't telling the truth. Trying to figure out the truth is, and how to survive. "He adds that there are "a few hundred people" trapped in the Arctic area.
Campbell is perhaps best known for his TV roles as Rick Sammler on "Once and Again", as Det. Joey Indelli on "Crime Story", as Jordan Collier on "The 4400", and as Dr. Jon Fielding on "Tales of the City Miniseries". His feature film credits include "The Rocketeer", "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "Enough". The 54-year-old will next star in Ron Maxwell's movie "Copperheads" and Lifetime's Lizzie Borden movie.
