By John Carucci
NEW YORK (AP) --John le Carre's best-selling novel "The Little Drummer Girl" was released in 1983 but remains timely — and that disturbs Alexander Skarsgard.
Skarsgard and Michael Shannon star in a six-hour miniseries based on the novel, playing Israeli agents on the hunt for a Palestinian bomber. "The Little Drummer Girl" premieres Monday night on AMC.
"What's depressing is the fact that it takes place 35 years ago, but it feels more relevant today than ever," Skarsgard said. "We're in a situation where feels like we'll be having this conversation in 35 years. And it's horrific what's happening down there."
The story centers around the manipulation of a radical left-wing actress named Charlie, played by Florence Pugh, who is coerced to go undercover to help root out a terrorist named Khalil, responsible for bombing Jewish-related targets in Europe.
Shannon didn't see any ethical issues with the premise of using a thespian to a root out a terrorist. Instead, he was enthralled by the concept.
"It seems to highlight something that I find very intriguing — that there can be a difference between your identity and your true self. That you can actually present yourself to be someone entirely other than who you actually are, which I think people do a lot," Shannon said.
Korean director Chan-wook Park, best known for the 2003 classic "Old Boy," helmed all six episodes of the miniseries.
"To spend like four or five months with one of the greatest filmmakers on the planet, it's obviously such a treat for us actors," Skarsgard said.
Skarsgard, fresh off an Emmy win for the HBO series "Big Little Lies," tends to gravitate toward meatier projects, so the script length also appealed to him.
"When you have a 400-page script as opposed to 100, it's so rich. You can go so deep and you can discover," Skarsgard said. "You can really take your time and enjoy it and slowly introduce characters and conflicts."
6 people accuse Diddy of sexual assault in new lawsuits, including man who was 16 at the time
Sean "Diddy" Combs was hit Monday with a new wave of lawsuits accusing him of raping women, sexually assaulting men and molesting a 16-year-old boy — the first time he's been sued by a person alleging they were abused as a minor.
At least six lawsuits were filed against Combs in federal court in Manhattan, adding to a growing list of legal claims against the indicted hip-hop mogul, all of which he has denied. The lawsuits were filed anonymously to protect the identities of the accusers, two by women identified as Jane Does and four by men identified as John Does.
Some of the Does, echoing others who've accused Combs in recent months, allege that he used his fame and the promise of potential stardom to entice victims to lavish parties or drug-fueled hangouts where he then assaulted them. Some allege that he beat or drugged them. Others say he threatened to kill them if they didn't do as he pleased or if they spoke out against him.
The lawsuits describe alleged assaults dating to the mid-1990s, including at Combs' celebrity-studded white parties in Long Island's Hamptons, at a party in Brooklyn celebrating Combs' then-collaborator Biggie Smalls, and even in the storeroom at Macy's flagship department store in midtown Manhattan.
The plaintiffs in Monday's lawsuits are part of what their lawyers say is a group of more than 100 alleged victims who are in the process of taking legal action following Combs' Sept. 16 arrest on federal racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. The lawsuits are among more than a dozen in the last year that accuse Combs of sexual assault.
Messages seeking comment were left for Combs' lawyers and other representatives. When the planned lawsuits were announced Oct. 1, a lawyer for Combs said the... Read More