He'll be back on our TV screens with Sherlock soon (we hope) but while we're waiting Martin Freeman's apparently getting set to team up with Billy Bob Thornton on a brand new US TV project.
The Hobbit star will join Thornton for the upcoming TV adaptation of Fargo (yes, the 1996 movie). As per The Hollywood Reporter, Freeman will play 'an insurance salesman who has seen better days' ie. the equivalent of William H. Macy's Lester Nygaard. The role nabbed a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Macy at the Academy Awards, so who knows what it might do for Martin's TV career?
Meanwhile Thornton takes on the role of the mysterious Lorne Malvo, a stranger who arrives in town to shake up Lester's life. No surprises there anyway, sure could you imagine the roles being reversed? Thornton as the small town salesman and Freeman as the manipulative rogue? Now that would be rather interesting...
The new series is said to be 10 episodes long and will apparently follow a new "true crime" story. That means there'll be plenty of new characters thrown into the 'Minnesota nice' melting pot ahead of it's transition to the small screen.
And it seems as though the network definitely isn't taking any risks when adapting the film for the small screen: Joel and Ethan Coen, the lads who brought us Fargo in the first place, are getting pretty heavily involved. With that pair executive producing the show we think it definitely stands a chance.
