‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’: Bill Nighy To Star In Showtime Drama

Bill Nighy (Love Actually) has been tapped to star opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris in Showtime’s The Man Who Fell To Earth drama series, based on the Walter Tevis novel and the cult classic 1976 film starring David Bowie. Nighy will take over the role played by Bowie in the film.

Showtime’s The Man Who Fell To Earth, which comes from Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and John Hlavin, will follow a new alien character (Ejiofor) who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.

Nighy will play the brilliant Thomas Newton, the first alien to arrive on earth over 40 years ago. Alone and desperate, Newton summons Faraday (Ejiofor) to complete his original mission. But Newton’s time marooned among human beings has cost him everything, possibly even his sanity.

The role marks a reunion for Nighy with both Ejiofor and Harris. He and Ejiofor worked together on Love Actually, for which Nighy won a supporting actor BAFTA award in one of his most famous performances. Nighy and Harris worked together on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End.

“I was honoured to be invited to play the part of Thomas Jerome Newton that glorious David Bowie made so famous,” said Nighy. “I was keen to work with Chiwetel and Naomie again. I think the story is terrific and brilliantly expressed. I am an enthusiast for shows which extrapolate from current technology and give us plausible glimpses of a possible near future. It’s an important story which, as well as being highly entertaining, discusses the crucial issues of our time. I like to think that the film makers of the original film would applaud Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet for their imaginative daring and loyal regard.”

Additional cast for The Man Who Fell To Earth, slated to premiere later this year, includes Jimmi Simpson, Rob Delaney, Sonya Cassidy, Joana Ribeiro, Annelle Olaleye, Kate Mulgrew and Clarke Peters.

Kurtzman and Lumet are writing and executive producing the series and will serve as showrunners alongside Hlavin. Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Heather Kadin are also executive producing alongside Aaron Baiers, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Studiocanal’s Rola Bauer and Françoise Guyonnet. It is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Timberman/Beverly. Studiocanal owns the rights to Tevis’ book and the Nicolas Roeg film.

Nighy’s most recent project, the acclaimed Living, sold to Sony Pictures Classics following its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in January. Nighy also is set to star in Netflix film The Beautiful Game, and he appears alongside Johnny Depp in the redemptive thriller Minamata.