Dakota Fanning Joins Showtime’s ‘Ripley’ Opposite Andrew Scott

Dakota Fanning is doubling down on Showtime roles.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actress is joining drama Ripley opposite Andrew Scott.

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It comes after she was cast in Showtime’s scripted anthology drama series The First Lady (w/t) as Susan Elizabeth Ford, the only daughter and youngest child of President Gerald and Betty Ford.

In Ripley, Fanning will play Marge Sherwood, an American living in Italy who suspects darker motives underlie the affability of Tom Ripley, played by Fleabag star Scott.

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s books, the show comes from The Night Of’s Steven Zaillian.

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The series follows Tom Ripley, a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York, who is hired by a wealthy man to try to convince his vagabond son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), who is living a comfortable, trust-funded ex-pat life in Italy, to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.

Zaillian will use the five novels written by Highsmith — The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley Under Ground, Ripley’s Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Underwater — as a road map to show Ripley’s progression from con artist to serial killer. In Anthony Minghella’s 1999 feature adaptation, The Talented Mr. Ripley, the title role was played by Matt Damon.

Ripley is co-produced by Showtime and Endemol Shine North America in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights. Executive producers are Zaillian, Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy, Philipp Keel and Charlie Corwin. Scott will serve as a producer on the series.

Production will start later this year in Italy.

“Dakota Fanning is the perfect choice to play the deliciously complicated Marge opposite Andrew Scott’s Tom Ripley,” said Amy Israel, EVP Scripted Programming at Showtime. “She’s an actor that brings smarts and vulnerability to every part, with so much bubbling beneath the surface. We can’t wait to see her sink her teeth into this role in Steve Zallian’s Ripley.”

Fanning recently played Sara Howard in The Alienist: Angel of Darkness and Charles Manson follower Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Earlier this month, she launched her own production company Lewellen Pictures with her sister Elle Fanning in partnership with Civic Center Media/MRC Television and set their first project – an adaptation of Megan Miranda’s bestselling novel The Last House Guest, which is being developed as a crime thriller series.

Fanning is repped by Echo Lake Entertainment, UTA and attorney Steve Warren.

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