Since leaving the massively popular British sci-fi series Doctor Who in 2013, Matt Smith has been racking up an impressive number of major roles in buzzy tentpoles like Terminator: Genisys and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and now the actor has added one more exciting project to his schedule. Deadline reports Smith will star in Screen Gems’ pandemic thriller Patient Zero opposite Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer.
In the pic, an unprecedented global pandemic of a super strain of rabies has transformed its hosts into a new species fueled by violence. One human survivor (Smith), inexplicably immune to the horrific virus, possesses the ability to communicate with this new species, which makes him the only person capable of spearheading a hunt for the cause of the virus. When his wife becomes infected, the man must race against time to find Patient Zero and extract a cure from them.
Austrian filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters, Deadfall) is set to direct from a script by Mike Le (co-writer of the comic-book series Mayhem!).
Though the original report of Dormer’s involvement made it sound as if she was playing the role of the immune survivor, it’s still exciting to see a talented actor like Smith come aboard in that lead role. Hopefully both stars will get ample opportunity to flex their dramatic muscles – as television aficionados know full well, Smith and Dormer are both incredibly talented and versatile performers.
Whether Patient Zero will live up to our expectations remains to be seen, but we’ll keep you posted as more on the project emerges.