Director Baltasar Kormakur has already built an impressive ensemble cast to star in his upcoming Everest, the movie already set to star Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Jason Clarke and Jake Gyllenhaal but today the list has gotten just a little bit longer. Variety has learned that actor Clive Standen, best known for his role as Rollo on the History Channel series Vikings, has nabbed a supporting role in the new mountain-set thriller.
Based on a script written by Lem Dobbs, Justin Isbell and William Nicholson, the film will be set in 1996, which is considered one of the deadliest years in Everest's history. The story will follow a "multi-expedition assault" on that mountain that turned deadly due a devastating snow storm. The tragic true story was famously turned into the non-fiction book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, which will serve as partial inspiration for the new feature along with interviews with the survivors. At this time it's unknown who in the cast will be playing which roles.
Standen does have some film credits to his name, but is best known for his small screen work. Originally from Northern Ireland, the actor began his career in the UK, starring in episodes of shows like Doctor Who and Walking The Dead, and more recently played Gawain in the short lived series Camelot. On Vikings he plays the brother of Travis Fimmel, who will also soon be getting his big screen break in Duncan Jones' Warcraft. You can watch some of Standen in action in the clips below:
Vikings will return for the start of its second season at the end of this month on February 27th.
Everest which is a co-production between Working Title and Universal Pictures is scheduled to be in theaters on February 27, 2015, where it will do box office battle with the Tarsem Singh-directed sci-fi thriller Selfless starring Ryan Reynolds. Production will presumably be starting up soon.
