Yay for a Sean thread!
I posted this at the LOTR board, but I'll repost it here too.
Astin, Sobieski, Dalton Labor for 'Hercules'
By Nellie Andreeva
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sean Astin, Leelee Sobieski and Timothy Dalton are set to star in NBC's four-hour miniseries "Hercules."
British newcomer Paul Telfer has been selected from more than 200 candidates to play the title role in the $20 million project, which chronicles the life of the Greek hero who, after killing his two sons and two of his brother's sons, performs 12 labors to repent.
Astin will play Linus, Hercules' music teacher. Sobieski will play Hercules' second wife, Deianeira. Dalton will play the hero's stepfather, Amphitryon. Angie Harmon ("Law & Order") is in talks to join the cast as Hercules' mother, Alcmene.
"Hercules" is scheduled to begin production Aug. 23 in New Zealand with the premiere eyed for May 2005.
While Telfer has an imposing physique, at 6-foot-2, the project will not follow the Hollywood formula of portraying Hercules as a Schwarzenegger-type muscle man with incredible physical strength.
"His strength comes within," executive producer Robert Halmi Sr. said. "He grows strong emotionally, mentally and spiritually as he tries to redeem himself."
Telfer is not a stranger to ancient times. He had roles on TNT's miniseries "Spartacus" and the upcoming indie "Alexander the Great From Macedonia."
Astin, who played Frodo's best friend Sam Gamgee in "The Lord of Rings" trilogy, recently wrapped the feature "Caught in the Act." Sobieski's credits include starring roles in the miniseries "Joan of Arc" for CBS and "Uprising" for NBC. Dalton, best known for his role as Agent 007 in two James Bond movies, starred as Julius Caesar in Halmi's 1999 TV movie "Cleopatra."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter