'Game Of Thrones' fame Aidan Gillen to helm one of the leads in epic series 'The O'Neill'

Aidan Gillen is known for his portrayal of Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish in the HBO series Game of Thrones. In a piece of interesting news for his fans, the actor has reportedly been cast as one of the leads in The O'Neill, helmed by filmmaker Stephen Saint Leger. As per Variety Reports, the Irish actor will be a part of the Gaelic Ireland epic, based on the life of the greatest hero of the country, Hugh O'Neill.

The series' concept has been curated by Jack Amstrong and will be showrun by Tim Loan, who is also a lead writer on Hulu’s Das Boot. The series is being touted as an epic drama and will be spread across four eight-hour seasons, centring on O'Neill's dynasty. The Queer as Folk actor is set to play O’Neill’s bitter arch enemy in the series.

Game of Thrones' Aidan Gillen to star in The O’Neill

The series is being directed by Leger, famously known for helming Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla, and The Battle episode of Barbarians. He will be helming the pilot episode as well as other upcoming episodes following the most powerful Gaelic lordship. Hugh O’Neill was taken from his native Ireland at the age of nine and transformed into an English Lord. He further forms a tight-knit bond with Queen Elizabeth I. His journey further marked a great threat to England's sovereignty until WWII. 

Aidan will essay the role of  Sir Henry Bagnal, Elizabeth I’s Royal Irish Army marshall, who was supposedly O’Neills' arch enemy. The actor came on board with HBO's GoT in 2011, with his popularity leading him to his second Irish Film & Television Award nomination. He bid adieu to his character in the seventh season's finale, The Dragon and the Wolf. Apart from this, Aidan is also famous for his roles in Queer as Folk, The Wire, Love/Hate, The Dark Knight Rises, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials as well as Peaky Blinders among many others. He has also received three Irish Film & Television Awards for his impeccable performances.

His upcoming project, The O'Neill, will be bankrolled by Armstrong along with Tristan Open Lynch and Aolfe O’Sullivan. The storyline is being hailed as an important fragment of one of the most popular and depicted periods in cinema, which is is the Elizabethan era. Reportedly, Loane, Armstrong and historian James Sheridan have spent several months digging about the periods' history for the show. 

(IMAGE: AP)