If ever there’s a time of year to celebrate the greatness of Judy Davis, it’s the holidays... that is, if you’re like me in putting The Ref on the shortlist of great and under-appreciated Christmas comedies. Alas, it’s only the timing of this casting news that relates to the holidays, as I doubt there will be anything Christmassy about 24: Live Another Day. Though I’d watch the heck out of a Die Hard-style Jack Bauer TV movie, but that’s a topic for another time. The point is, Davis will be playing a villainous character in the planned 12-episode 24 event series.
TVLine reports that Judy Davis will play “a fierce German arms dealer named Margo.” Given the nature of her job, it stands to reason that she’ll serve as some kind of opposition to the heroic Jack Bauer.
Davis is one the first outsiders to join the 24 follow-up, as most of the previous bits of casting news have involved returning cast members, including Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer), Kim Raver (Audrey Raines), William Devane (James Heller) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian). Also having recently joined the cast — via EW — is Michael Wincott, who will be playing the role of Adrian, a “charismatic hacker and a leader of the free information movement.”
24: Live Another Day is set to be shot in London and will pick up four years after the events of the series finale, which left Jack Bauer shuffling off into the sunset, a grief-stricken and wanted man. Unlike the original format of the series, which told each day’s story in real-time, the 12-episode nature of this event series means some hours will be skipped, but the story will be told chronologically.
Back to Davis, she seems like a great pick for a villainous-type, as she’s been known to show a stern and intimidating side with some of her characters. In addition to playing Caroline in The Ref, she also starred in The Starter Wife (the miniseries and the TV series that followed) as Joan McAllister, and she encouraged Jennifer Aniston to get her canvas painted in The Break-Up. More recently, she played a role in To Rome with Love:
She also has another TV movie lined up called Salting the Battlefield, so it seems between that and 24: Live Another Day, we’ll be seeing plenty of Davis on the small screen in 2014. Fox hasn’t set an official date for 24:LAD but it’s slated to debut sometime next Spring.
