One of the things I liked most about Starz' drama series Camelot was Joseph Fiennes' portrayal of the well-known wizard Merlin. Through the role, Fiennes brought confidence, wisdom and just a little bit of humor to the series. While he may be better known for the movies he's appeared in, including Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, Fiennes switched over to television for ABC's short-lived series Flashforward, and then for Starz' even shorter-lived drama Camelot. Perhaps he'll have better luck joining a series that has already successfully secured itself a second season. And by that, I'm referring to FX's American Horror Story.
With a whole new story and a new set of characters, American Horror Story has slowly been rebuilding its cast, with some Season 1 players returning for new roles in the second season (Jessica Lange, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters among them), and some newcomers already locked in to join the series (CHloe Sevigny, James Cromwell, Zachary Quinto and Adam Levine). (Vague Season 2 spoilers ahead!) Today, Entertainment Weekly has reported that the final "major piece of casting" for Season 2 is in the process of falling into place, with Fiennes in talks for a regular role on the horror-drama. Should the deal go through, he'll play the head of the institution in which the second season will take place.
And unlike certain other characters set up for Season 2, who have been described as rivals to Lange's character, it sounds like she actually likes this one. "Likes" may be putting it mildly as EW describes him as "the object of her attraction." Interesting…
I don't remember FlashForward well enough to recall Fiennes' performance in the series, but I liked him in Camelot, and I could see him doing well with whatever it is Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have in mind for him in AHS, so let's hope things work out.
