Frank Langella's House Of Usher Role Recast With Bruce Greenwood
Only two weeks after the news broke that actor Frank Langella would be removed from the production of Mike Flanagan's currently-filming Netflix series "The Fall of the House of Usher," as a result of a sexual harassment investigation, we now know which actor will be stepping in to replace Langella in extensive reshoots. Frequent Flanagan collaborator Bruce Greenwood has been tapped for the newly recast role of Roderick Usher in the limited series, The Hollywood Reporter revealed. The announcement was also accompanied by Flanagan himself weighing in on Twitter (with a helpful link to Greenwood's IMDb page!), welcoming the successful actor into the fold.
"I'm elated to welcome my dear friend, the brilliant BRUCE GREENWOOD to THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER as the iconic Roderick Usher. This will be our 4th collaboration (because yes, I absolutely count the background ghost cameo in HILL HOUSE)."
Flanagan and Greenwood's previous work together includes movies such as "Gerald's Game" in 2017 and, more recently, 2019's "Doctor Sleep." Greenwood is perhaps best known for his role as JFK in "Thirteen Days," as well as roles in both J.J. Abrams-directed "Star Trek" films and the Fox series "The Resident."
Trust in Mike Flanagan
The Netflix series "The Fall of the House of Usher," which will mark horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan's fifth major collaboration with the streamer, is based on several short stories by author and poet Edgar Allan Poe. Previously described as a "modern remix," the latest series "will tell a story of greed, horror and tragedy," fitting right in with Flanagan's prior work on projects such as "The Haunting of Hill House," "The Haunting of Bly Manor," "Midnight Mass," and the upcoming "The Midnight Club."
Bruce Greenwood will join a pretty impressive ensemble cast that includes the likes of Mark Hamill, Carla Gugino, Carl Lumbly, Mary McDonnell, Samantha Sloyan, T'nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford, Katie Parker, Sauriyan Sapkota, Michael Trucco, Malcolm Goodwin Crystal Balint, Kyliegh Curran, Aya Furukawa, Ruth Codd, Paola Núñez, Matt Biedel, Daniel Jun, Robert Longstreet, and Annabeth Gish.
Unfortunately, such a shocking instance of completely recasting a part after reports of unacceptable behavior is hardly precedent-setting. Most famously, director Ridley Scott took the drastic step of removing disgraced actor Kevin Spacey from 2017's "All the Money in the World" and reshooting every one of his scenes with Christopher Plummer. This example does not appear to require such an extensive overhaul, as filming had only partially been completed by the time the decision was made.
Even so, may this serve as a crucial lesson that nobody is truly irreplaceable and that harassment of any kind should no longer be tolerated anywhere.