Casting News: Nazneen Contractor Joins Star Trek 2; Liam Hemsworth Joins Dwayne Johnson in Empire State
Posted 01.08.12 by Ryan
Earlier this week, British actors Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC's Sherlock, War Horse) and Noel Clarke (BBC's Dr. Who series) were added to the cast of director J.J. Abrams' sequel to his successful 2009 reboot, tentatively titled Star Trek 2. Cumberbatch is believed to be playing the sequel's villain, though that's not exactly confirmed and Cumberbatch isn't talking. Clarke is reportedly playing "a family man with a wife and young daughter", and it looks like his wife has now been cast.
EW reports that Nazneen Contractor (24) has been cast as Clarke's wife, though how their characters are utilized in the plot of the movie is unknown. No other character details were offered.
Contractor joins fellow newcomers Peter Weller (Robocop, Dexter) and Alice Eve (She's Out of My League). Weller's agent has revealed that the actor's part was "a substantial role and that Peter is playing a C.E.O.", but Eve's role is still unknown. Cumberbatch's villain will be "original and unique" according to producer Bryan Burk. Plot details on Star Trek 2 are still unknown, and fans are anxiously awaiting to learn what screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof have in store for Captain Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban) and the rest of Enterprise crew. Production is supposed to start this month and last until June.
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Liam Hemsworth will appear in a couple action movies next year, first in the adaptation of The Hunger Games as Gale Hawthorne and later in The Expendables 2 as the youngest member of Sylvester Stallone's collection of action stars from the past three decades. Hemsworth will continue in the action genre with Empire State, based on a true-life heist of a New York armored car company that occurred in 1982 and was considered one of the biggest cash heists in U.S. history at the time.
According to Deadline, Hemsworth is negotiating to play "Chris" in the movie, alongside Dwayne Johnson, who is negotiating to play "Ransone", and has lined up several action roles as well, appearing next year in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation but not, surprisingly, in The Expendables 2.
Empire State was written by Adam Mazer (Breach, You Don't Know Jack) and will be directed by Dito Montiel (Fighting, The Son of No One). Production is set to start in April.