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After over a decade of taking part in calculating drug boss Gustavo “Gus” Fring on Breaking Dangerous and Higher Name Saul, Giancarlo Esposito is main a brand new AMC drama subsequent yr. Primarily based on a BBC miniseries, The Driver will star Esposito as a cab driver who will get swept up in a seedy world of crime when he agrees to chauffeur a Zimbabwean gangster round New Orleans. The gangster in query has a nasty rap for benefiting from undocumented immigrants in Southern U.S. port cities.
Whereas Esposito has managed to remain persistently booked and busy, taking part in a cabbie is a significant departure for the veteran actor who is essentially recognized for his antagonist roles. He’s scored a number of Emmy nominations for his work as Gus Fring, in addition to his flip as Imperial chief Moff Gideon on Disney+’s Star Wars spinoff collection The Mandalorian. He additionally performs a villain on Amazon Studios’ cult-favorite superhero satire The Boys.
As The Driver producer Sunu Gonera advised The Hollywood Reporter, “This complete journey began as a easy dialog 4 years in the past in my supervisor Josh Kesselman’s lounge when he stated, ‘Giancarlo is eager to play an everyman as his subsequent position. There’s a British present he loves known as The Driver. Would you watch the pilot and see for those who may give you a take you each may get enthusiastic about?’ Um, would I? You had me at Giancarlo and everyman.”
Gonera developed The Driver for AMC with Danny Brocklehurst, who co-created the unique British collection. Gonera and Brocklehurst are government producers on the venture, alongside Esposito and showrunner Theo Travers.
“I'm over the moon excited, enthused, and impressed to be in collaboration with the stellar community and artistic group of AMC,” Esposito stated in an announcement. “Thanks for believing in me. It’s nice to be again house!”
The six-episode first season of The Driver is slated to premiere on the cable community and its streaming service, AMC+, in 2023.