FX’s hit Cold War spy series, The Americans, has gained yet another talented thespian in the form of Academy Award nominee Frank Langella, who’s landed a recurring role in the show’s upcoming third season.
Langella will play Gabriel, the former KGB handler of super spies Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Michael Rhys and Keri Russell, respectively). Gabriel comes out of retirement to assume the duties of the Jennings’ last handler, Claudia, who was played by Margo Martindale and had a bit of a falling out with Philip and Elizabeth last season.
As far as what that means for Claudia, executive producer Joel Fields says that the door is open for her to return, but that they “don’t have it in a script yet. Claudia is secretive and unpredictable!”
Langella should be an excellent fit for the drama series, and adds a bit of gravitas to the already talented cast that includes not only Rhys and Russell, but Noah Emmerich, Annet Mahendru, Susan Misner, Alison Wright, Costa Ronin and Lev Gorn.
Fields and his co-producer Joe Weisberg issued the following statement regarding Langella’s casting:
“We’ve been huge fans of Frank’s work for a long time, and it’s been such a pleasure getting to know Frank himself in the beginning stages of working together on the character of Gabriel. We look forward to a great season together, and to what we’re sure will be a phenomenal creative collaboration.”
The Americans returns to FX for its third season in January 2015.