Danny Boyle’s FX Limited Series ‘Trust’ Casts Donald Sutherland as J. Paul Getty
Donald Sutherland has been cast as billionaire J. Paul Getty in executive producer Danny Boyle’s upcoming FX limited series “Trust,” Variety has learned.
Getty, the great oil man and founder of the Getty family dynasty, was the architect of the great family fortune, and of its misfortunes too. He was one of the twentieth century’s most iconic and enigmatic figures, and a man of great contradictions – a billionaire who washed his own socks; a visionary who dreamed of a dynasty, but who was baffled by family.
Sutherland is one of the most versatile film and television actors of the century, with a resume of over one hundred and fifty films and shows, including such classics as Robert Aldrich’s “The Dirty Dozen,” Robert Altman’s “M*A*S*H,” and was President Snow in all four of the popular film adaptations of “The Hunger Games” novel series. On the television side, Sutherland won both Emmy and Golden Globe awards as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the HBO film “Citizen X,” and he won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Clark Clifford, advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson, in the HBO historical drama “Path to War.”
He is repped by CAA and Jerry Longarzo at KlevanLongarzo LLP.
The 10-episode first installment of “Trust” tells the story of Getty’s grandson, John Paul Getty III, heir to the family’s oil fortune. It is set in 1973, when the young Getty is kidnapped in Rome and his mafia captors are banking on a multi-million dollar ransom. The series charts the young man’s nightmare ordeal at the hands of kidnappers who cannot understand why nobody seems to want their captive back. The Italian police think it’s a prank and decline to investigate. Paul’s father is lost in a heroin daze in London and refuses to answer the phone. His grandfather is marooned in a Tudor mansion in the English countryside surrounded by five mistresses and a pet lion. Only Paul’s broke mother is left to negotiate with increasingly desperate kidnappers.
The series is being executive produced by Boyle, Simon Beaufoy and Christian Colson. Written by Beaufoy and directed by Boyle, the first installment will be produced by FX Productions, Cloud Eight Films, Decibel Films and Snicket Films Limited.
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