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Taylor Kitsch sticking with TV to play religious cult leader David Koresh

The True Detective actor will star in the miniseries opposite Michael Shannon 

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 31 August 2016 09:42 BST
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Considering the lines between film and TV are blurring with every new day, it seems Taylor Kitsch is becoming less and less fussed that his big screen career has been something of a non-starter.

Following his tenure on beloved US series Friday Night Lights, all eyes were on the male actor to take Hollywood by storm - but one catatonic flop (John Carter) halted those aspirations.

Kitsch, though, is not the issue; a likeable performance in Peter Berg's misfire Battleship followed as did a lead role alongside Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn and Rachel McAdams in the unfairly-maligned True Detective season 2.

The actor is sticking with TV for his next role which looks to be his boldest yet; he'll play David Koresh, the religious sect leader responsible for the massacre of 80 of his followers.

Weinstein Television is to adapt A Place Called Waco and Sinful Messiah for the series which will also see Michael Shannon (Midnight Special) return to the small screen for the first time since Boardwalk Empire. He'll play FBI negotiator Gary Noesener.

Koresh believed he was the final prophet of the Branch Davidians religious sect; in 1993, he led a deadly standoff with federal agents in Waco, Texas which led to the death of over 80 people.

The miniseries is said to hone in on the 51-day siege upon the compound that housed Koresh's cult.

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