Emmy Award-winning actor Matthew Rhys has been cast in the lead role in Netflix’s upcoming mystery thriller The Beast in Me. As the name suggests, it will be an examination of the characters’ inner demons and its deadly impact on their lives. Claire Danes, best known for her role in 1994’s Little Women, among others, is already on board for the second lead role!
The story will follow acclaimed author Aggie Wiggs (Danes), whose world is torn apart by the tragic death of her young son. In the aftermath, she retreats from public life, struggles to write and is haunted by ghosts from her childhood.
She finally finds a subject for her book after meeting Niles Sheldon (Rhys), a suspicious but charming real estate mogul who was once the prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance. Wiggs is strangely drawn to this man and finds herself pursuing the truth and exposing his demons rather than facing her own. What the two don’t know is that this cat and mouse chase is heading towards a deadly turn.
Rhys is best known for his role in the critically acclaimed FX series The Americans, for which he earned his first Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of KGB agent Philip Jennings in 2018. The five-time Emmy nominee was most recently nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor category in 2021 for his role in HBO’s Perry Mason.
Meanwhile, Danes is serving as executive producer on The Beast in Me alongside Gabe Rotter and showrunner Howard Gordon. The film is directed by Antonio Campos and written by American Horror Story writer Daniel Pearle. Jeff Ross and David Kissinger for Conanco, Jodie Foster and Caroline Baron, comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien, and 20th Television Studios are also on board as executive producers.
