Following his appearance in True Detective, Colin Farrell is set to return to the small screen by taking on the role of Oliver North in a new drama about the Iran-Contra affair, which will reunite him with The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos. The series is being developed for Amazon, and will see Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson penning the script, and Ben Stiller and Nicky Weinstock executive producing.
A former U.S. Marine and member of the National Security Council during the Reagan administration, Oliver North was a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal, which involved the U.S. diverting proceeds from the illegal sale of weapons to Iran to support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
“I’m really excited to be working with Colin again on something quite different to what we have done so far,” said Lanthimos. “I look forward to joining forces with Ben and Nicky, who had an excellent casting idea and saw the potential of the material early on and Amazon, who has embraced the project with great enthusiasm. It makes me very confident and excited to be working on a script which, although based on relatively recent history, feels very fresh and relevant to our times.”
“Great projects can stand out for the filmmaker, the talent, or the pure originality of the storytelling,” added Joe Lewis, Amazon Studios’ head of comedy, drama, and VR. Brilliant projects like this stand out by virtue of having all of those elements. We’re excited to be making stories with Yorgos, Colin, Ben, and Nicky from Enzo and Scott’s incredible scripts.”
Originally published March 21, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
