In 2009, Giancarlo Esposito made an immediate impression as drug lord Gus Fring on AMC’s Breaking Bad, and he’s been a staple on the network ever since. Esposito also reprised his role as Fring for Better Call Saul. But now that the Breaking Bad prequel series is set to end this year, Esposito will finally headline his own AMC drama.
Via Deadline, Esposito will star in The Driver, a remake of a BBC One miniseries that originally featured David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) in the title role. Esposito will portray a cab driver “whose life is turned upside down when he agrees to chauffer a New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster notorious for exploiting undocumented immigrants at the U.S. southern ports.”
“I am over-the-moon excited, enthused, and inspired to be in collaboration with the stellar network and creative team of AMC,” said Esposito in a statement. “Thanks for believing in me. It’s great to be back home.”
“Giancarlo is a singular talent who is already beloved by AMC viewers through his standout performances in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul,” added AMC Studios President of Entertainment, Dan McDermott. “We are excited to be continuing his relationship with AMC and AMC+ in a series built around him and an unforgettable character who takes what he thinks is a straightforward job opportunity and finds himself confronted with a world that tests him in ways he could never have imagined.”
The BBC’s incarnation of The Driver was created by Danny Brocklehurst, Jim Poyser, and Sunu Gonera. Brocklehurst will also co-create the new version of the series alongside Sunu Gonera and Theo Travers, who will be the showrunner of the project. Gonera is also set to direct the pilot episode.
Esposito is also slated to executive produce the series with Gonera, Brocklehurst, Travers, Josh Kesselman, Danny Sherman, Barry Jossen, and Tana Jamieson.
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