Guillermo del Toro Sets ‘Pacific Rim’s’ Robert Maillet As Main ‘Strain’ Villain

Guillermo del Toro must really like working with Robert Maillet. First he directed him in the soon-to-open Pacific Rim, and now the actor has snagged the role of the world-conquering vampire The Master in FX’s drama pilot The Strain. The Canadian former wrestler and actor joins John Hurt, Corey Stoll, Mia Maestro and Sean Astin in the drama from del Toro and Carlton Cuse. Based on the best-selling vampire dystopia novels by del Toro and Chuck Hogan, The Strain is being eyed for a 13-episode pickup by FX. Maillet’s The Master comes to NYC aboard a plane from Europe and begins a strategic and systematic takeover of the world despite the efforts of Stoll’s CDC Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and others. The actor plays Lt. Kaidanovsky in Pac Rim and has appeared in Sherlock Holmes, where he delivered quite the dockside beatdown on Robert Downey Jr. Repped by Characters Talent Agency, Maillet also was in 300 and Immortals, in which where he played a Minotaur.

Related: Sean Astin Joins FX Drama Pilot ‘The Strain’

Veronica Mars’ Francis Capra also has joined The Strain. Capra will play Crispin, a mid-30s scammer who is always on the lookout for the easy and high-paying way out. The role would be a recurring one if the pilot goes to series. Capra is repped by Talent House LA and Curtis Talent Management.