AXN Announces the Launch of Original Series HANNIBAL

AXN will premiere the highly anticipated, original series Hannibalon April 8, 2013 (Monday) at 10PM. A cinematic thriller from the imaginative mind of Bryan Fuller (Heroes, Pushing Daisies) and the artful direction of David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night), Hannibal explores the early relationship of Thomas Harris’ famous characters, renowned psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and gifted FBI criminal profiler Will Graham.

Hannibal stars Hugh Dancy (The Big C, King Arthur, Black Hawk Down) as Will Graham, a brilliant, empathic FBI profiler who is able to mentally re-trace the twisted thoughts and methods of the agencies most-wanted serial killers. His boss and handler, Jack Crawford (Laurence H. Fishburne, The Matrix, Contagion, CSI), who harnesses Will’s uncanny ability to see into minds of the evil, recognizes his need for psychiatric help after a particularly disturbing case. As a result, Will finds himself assigned to the care of the highly-respected psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen, Casino Royale, The Hunt, A Royal Affair). Unbeknownst to Will, there is a reason Dr. Lecter has particular insight into these horrible crimes and the psychopaths who commit them. What follows is a masterful mind game set against the contrasting worlds of good and evil where lines blur, elegance breeds horror and nothing is what it seems.

Fuller’s stylized, procedural drama is the latest AXN original series, ideally suited for AXN channels across Asia and the rest of the world. As part of the global launch in April 2013, Hannibal will be rolled out in over 80 countries and versioned in 18 languages around the world. Hannibal is produced by Gaumont International Television in association with Sony Pictures Television Networks.

ABOUT THE CAST:

Mads Mikkelsen (HannibalLecter)

The Copenhagen-born Mads Mikkelsen began his professional career as a gymnast and dancer, and has worked steadily in theatre, television and film to become the top male star in Denmarkand Scandinavia.

Mikkelsen stars in the Academy Award-nominated film, A Royal Affair, in the role of Johann Friedrich Struensee. Mikkelsen received the Best Actor Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival for his role in The Hunt. Following a premiere at Cannes, the film screened at the 2012 Telluride Film Festival, the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, and will be released by Magnolia Pictures in Spring 2013. Mikkelsen also co-stars in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, opposite Shia LaBeouf, Rupert Grint and Evan Rachel Wood. Directed by Fredrik Bond, the film premiered in January 2013 at Sundance Film Festival and will be screened in competition at the 63^rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2013. In 2004, Mikkelsen made his American debut opposite Clive Owen and Keira Knightley in Disney’s King Arthur, directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean).

Hugh Dancy (Will Graham)

Hugh Dancy recently starred in Hysteria opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal and the critically acclaimed film Martha Marcy May Marlene opposite Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, and John Hawkes. He will next lend his voice to Summertime Entertainment’s animated 3D musical Dorothy of Oz. Dancy was previously seen starring in Adam opposite Rose Byrne. He plays the title character, a young man with Asperger’s syndrome struggling to survive in New York City. Adampremiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. Dancy also starred in P.J. Hogan’s Confessions of a Shopaholic opposite Isla Fisher, which grossed over $100 million worldwide. Dancy’s other film credits include: Our Idiot Brother, Evening, The Jane Austen Book Club, Beyond the Gates, King Arthur, Ella Enchanted, The Sleeping Dictionary, Black Hawk Down, and Young Blades. In 2007, he starred in Tom Hooper’s critically acclaimed series Elizabeth Iopposite Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. He received an Emmy^®Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his role as Earl of Essex. The series received the 2007 Golden Globe^®Award for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and the Emmy^®Award for Best Miniseries. Dancy’s other television credits include: The Big C, Daniel Deronda, David Copperfield and Madame Bovary.

Laurence Fishburne (Jack Crawford)

Laurence J. Fishburne III has achieved success not only as an actor but as a producer and director. In 1992, he won a Tony, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critic’s Circle Award and a Theater World Award for his portrayal of Sterling Johnson in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running. His appearance in the 1993 premiere episode of Fox TV’s Tribeca landed him an Emmy® Award. And to complete the Triple Crown, he was nominated for an Oscar® in 1993 for his portrayal of Ike Turner in What’s Love Got to do With It. Fishburne received another Emmy^®nomination for his portrayal of Thurgood Marshall in the HBO adaptation of his one-man show, Thurgood. He originated the role in the 2008 Broadway debut of the play, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor and winning Drama Desk and Outer Critics’ Circle Awards. Most recently, Fishburne has completed production as the character Perry White in the upcoming Superman film Man of Steel from director Zack Snyder, scheduled for release in June 2013. He has also completed production on The Colony, directed by Jeff Renfroe for release later this year. In September 2011, Fishburne starred in Steven Soderbergh’s disease outbreak thriller, Contagion. Fishburne’s screen credits include Nimrod Antal’s Predators, the heist film Armored, and The Alchemist, in which he starred, directed and produced. In 2008 he joined the cast of the CBS’ hit primetime show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Also in 2008, Fishburne was seen in the box office success 21, alongside Kevin Spacey. In 2006, Fishburne reunited with his What’s Love Got to Do With Itco-star Angela Bassett in Akeelah and the Bee, a performance that earned him a Best Actor Award at the 2006 Black Movie Awards. The film swept the show with three other wins, including Best Picture. Immediately following, he co-starred in Mission Impossible III, and the acclaimed indie Bobby, for which he shared a Screen Actors Guild® Award nomination for Best Ensemble Cast. In 2005, he starred in Assault on Precinct 13, and previous to that, was an integral part of the box-office sensations The Matrix, The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions. He also appeared in Clint Eastwood’s critically acclaimed Mystic River and in Biker Boyz.

by Eccentric Yet Happy