Benedict Cumberbatch has signed up to play the poisoned ex-KGB agent, Alexander Litvinenko, in the HBO series ‘Londongrad.’
Based on the book ‘The Terminal Spy’ by Alan Cowell, the series tells the true story of Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko was a KGB agent and later defector and subsequently killed by poisoning with the radioactive isotope polonium-210 in 2006 in England.
As well as starring, Cumberbatch will also serve as an executive producer on the project under his Sunnymarch banner.
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‘The Dissident’ filmmaker, Bryan Fogel is set to direct and executive produce the series from a script by ‘All The Money in the World’ scribe, David Scarpa. Len Amato of Crash&Salvage will executive produce as well alongside Adam Ackland and Claire Marshall of Sunnymarch.
Cumberbatch is no stranger to TV roles with the likes of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series ‘Sherlock’ and Showtime limited series ‘Patrick Melrose’ under his belt.
The subject of Litvinenko’s poisoning is a hot topic in the industry right now. Back in September, it was that David Tennant had signed on to star in the ITV drama ‘Litvinenko.’
