Gael García Bernal has joined the Station Eleven series! Deadline reports that the actor will be playing the role of Arthur, “a famous actor from a small island off the coast of Mexico,” in HBO Max’s adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel.
Previously, it was announced that Mackenzie Davis would be playing Kirsten Raymonde, while Himesh Patel would be playing Jeevan Chaudhary. The pair will be headlining the series as two members of the Traveling Symphony, a group of roaming performers who stage theatre productions and concerts. Meanwhile, David Wilmot will play Clark, whom Deadline describes as “a corporate consultant who gave up artistic ambitions but discovers a hero within himself in the post-apocalyptic landscape.”
Hiro Murai will direct and executive produce the 10-episode limited series, while Maniac creator Patrick Somerville will write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner, Deadline reports. There’s no word yet on a release date.
Here’s the novel’s official synopsis, from Penguin Random House:
Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.
Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.
Photo of Gael García Bernal by Karl Byrnison, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
