Some of us will always associate her best with Leslie Hope 24 character, Teri Bauer. But playing the crucial role of Jack Bauer's wife in the suspenseful drama's first season is just one of Hope's numerous notable roles. And it looks like she could be adding another to her resume, assuming things go well for The Strain, the FX pilot that Guillermo del Toro is directing.
Based on a novel by Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, The Strain is described as a high-concept thriller about the head of a Center for Disease Control team working in New York City, led by Dr. Ephraim Goodweather. They're tasked to look into a strange viral outbreak "with the hallmarks of an ancient, evil strain of vampirism." It sounds like it could blend a bit more science into the vampire genre, treating vampirism as a disease with the potential to spread.
Cory Stoll (House of Cards) has already been cast to play the lead, Dr. Goodweather. Alias beauty Mia Maestro is set to play Stoll's character's love interest. Also among the cast are John Hurt and Sean Astin. And now TVLine reports that Leslie Hope has boarded the project, playing Joan Luss, "one of the few survivors of the outbreak." No more specifics on the role were mentioned, but from that description, it sounds like this outbreak spreads pretty fast. If the pilot goes to series, Hope's Joan will be a recurring character.
Hope's small screen credits go back to the 80s, with roles in Berrenger's and Knots Landing. And she played the female lead in the under-appreciated garbage man comedy Men at Work, starring brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. That was all before going on to play the ill-fated Teri Bauer in 24. Since then, we've seen her in The Mentalist, The River, and most recently, Revolution, in which she played President Kelly Foster in the series' first season. Should things go well for The Strain, this would be a shift to cable for the actor, and a return to horror/thriller TV, which is about where I'd categorize ABC's short-lived drama The River. Hope starred as Tess Cole in the found-footage drama, which didn't make it beyond its first season. With that in mind, not to mention 24, it's not difficult to picture Hope in any kind of intense and scary situation. That's familiar territory for her.
TVLine also notes that Hope is set to guest star on the highly rated NCIS this fall, playing a high-level Navy Official. So it seems we'll be seeing her on the small screen in the near future whether or not The Strain takes off. But I'm still hopeful that the FX drama makes it to series, as it sounds like it could be another great drama for the cable channel. In the meantime, Amazon has the Kindle version of The Strain for sale for $1.99.
