Last week at press tour, the producers of ABC's Life on Mars revealed they were after a "name" to top off their tweaked cast. Well, they got one. Harvey Keitel — an Academy Award nominee for his work in Bugsy and familiar from such films as Reservoir Dogs and (nudity alert!) The Piano — has been tapped to fill the pivotal role of Det. Gene Hunt, the gruff head of the homicide department for which Jason O'Mara's Sam Tyler toils. Hunt, the last major male character to be cast on ABC's port of the BBC series, was played across the pond by Philip Glenister.Interestingly, exactly a year ago Keitel was being eyeballed to replace Mandy Patinkin on Criminal Minds. Joe Mantegna ultimately was cast instead.Other announced casting for Life on Mars includes The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli (as Det. Ray Carling) and October Road's Jonathan Murphy (as upstart Det. Chris Skelton).Life on Mars concerns a modern-day cop (O'Mara) mysteriously transported back to the 1970s. Filming on the ser...
read more
Harvey, we hardly knew ya. Just hours after word broke that Harvey Keitel was thisclose to signing a contract with Criminal Minds for the spot left vacant by the disappearing Mandy Patinkin, sources say the deal is no longer on the table. This makes Keitel the latest big name to be stricken from the show’s most-wanted list. Others include Geena Davis, Michael Keaton and Bob Hoskins. Despite the suspense surrounding the search, we hear the show is still chugging along fine without the replacement. The first three episodes are already in the can (with Patinkin’s absence being dealt with in the season-opener). This means that whoever the new character is, he/she (and we suspect it’s a he) won’t be appearing until later in the season. — Reporting by Jonathan SmallRelated: Harvey Keitel Emerges as Front-runner for Criminal Minds Top Spot
read more
Looks like the mystery surrounding who will replace Mandy Patinkin on Criminal Minds is closer to being solved. Sources tell TV Guide that the producers and the network are in serious negotiations with Harvey Keitel.While not a done deal yet, this is the closest they’ve come to filling the role. This would mark the Oscar-nominated actor's first series-lead role. —Reporting by Jonathan Small
read more
Per the Hollywood Reporter, Andre Braugher and Laurie Holden have been cast in The Mist, director Frank Darabont's adaptation of the Stephen King chiller about a small Maine town marauded by deadly creatures in the wake of a strange storm. (Wasn't that a Dean Koontz story, too?).... Harvey Keitel is in final talks to join The Ministers, a crime thriller about a female NYPD detective (One Life to Live alumna Florencia Lozano) out to avenge her father's murder at the hands of what sounds like a cult. Keitel would play another cop — and hopefully one who keeps his pants on.
read more
