?eljko Ivanek, Barry Shabaka Henley and 6 Others Join Netflix’s President Garfield/Charles Guiteau Drama
?eljko Ivanek (Damages), Barry Shabaka Henley (Bob Hearts Abishola) and Vonde Curtis Hall (Justified: City Primeval) are among newly revealed cast for Death by Lightning, Netflix’s limited series about President James Garfield and his admirer/eventual assassin, Charles Guiteau.
Based on Candace Millard’s 2011 book Destiny of the Republic, the Netflix series “brings to life the epic and stranger-than-fiction true story of James Garfield (played by George & Tammy‘s Michael Shannon), reluctant 20th president of the United States, and his greatest admirer Charles Guiteau (Succession‘s Matthew Macfadyen) — the man who would come to kill him.”
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In the series, which just wrapped production in Budapest, Ivanek plays Dr. Willard Bliss, Henley (due to scheduling conflicts) replaced Stephen Mckinley Henderson as Senator Blanche Bruce, and Hall portrays Frederick Douglass.
Additionally, Archie Fisher (Boarders) will appear as Joe Brown, Kyle Soller (Andor) plays Robert Todd Lincoln, Ben Miles (The Crown) portrays George Scoville, Shaun Parkes (Lost in Space) fills the role of Dr. Charles Purvis, and Alistair Petrie (Sex Education) plays John Sherman.
In addition to Shannon and Macfadyen, the limited series’ previously announced cast includes Betty Gilpin (GLOW) as First Lady Crete Garfield, Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as Chester Arthur, Laura Marcus (The Serpent Queen) as First Daughter Mollie Garfield, Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) as Secretary of State James Blaine, Shea Whigham (Agent Carter) as Senator Roscoe Conkling, Paula Malcomson (Deadwood) as Guiteau’s sister Franny Scoville, and Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey) as Kate Chase Sprague.
Death by Lightning was created for TV by Mike Makowsky (I Think We’re Alone Now), who also served as writer and executive producer. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones, 3 Body Problem), as well as Matt Ross (Gaslit), also executive-produced, with Ross directing all episodes.
A release date has not yet been set, but it will be sometime in 2025.
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