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John Hurt Joins FX's Vampire Thriller The Strain

John Hurt has joined the cast of The Strain, FX announced Monday. Based on the best-selling vampire novel trilogy, the pilot is a high concept thriller about Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City.  He and his team investigate a...

Natalie Abrams
Natalie Abrams

John Hurt has joined the cast of The Strain, FX announced Monday.

Based on the best-selling vampire novel trilogy, the pilot is a high concept thriller about Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Center for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City.  He and his team investigate a mysterious viral outbreak that has telltale signs of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. 

Hurt will play Abraham Setrakian, a holocaust survivor who immigrated to the U.S. after WWII and now runs a pawn shop in Spanish Harlem. He teams up with the CDC Canary Team when Eph realizes that the outbreak isn't a new bioterror weapon, but something older and beyond science. Along with regular New York citizens, this new ragtag group of resistance fighters take on the hungry and intelligent predators that overwhelm the Big Apple — fighting monsters not only to save their homes and city but also to determine the fate of humanity itself.

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"I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever," said writer and director Guillermo del Toro, who first worked with Hurt on the 2004 big screen adaptation of Hellboy and penned the Carlton Cuse-produced project with author Chuck Hogan.  "Chuck [Hogan] and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels, and he is absolutely perfect for the part!"

The 73-year-old actor joins the previously announced Kevin Durand, Mia Maestro, Richard Sammel, Lauren Lee Smith, Jonathan Hyde and Miguel Gomez.. Hurt is well-known for his roles in The Elephant Man, I, Claudius, V for Vendettaand Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. He also made a surprise appearance in the Season 7 finale of Doctor Who and will reappear in the upcoming 50th anniversary special in November.