After playing a handful of bad guys, “Lost” thesp Kevin Durand is now set to play a character who was falsely accused of committing an evil act.
Durand has joined the cast of “Devil’s Knot,” where he will play John Mark Byers, the father of one of the murdered children in the West Memphis Three case. The real-life father loved talking to the press and was initially a person of interest in the murders since his story changed from his initial police statement.
The pic stars Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth and is helmed by Atom Egoyan.
The film is based on journalist Mara Leveritt’s book and follows follows private detective Ron Lax (Firth), who took on the West Memphis Three case pro bono. He found DNA evidence linking Terry Hobbs (Alessandro Nivola), the stepfather of one of the three murdered boys, to material that was used to bind one of the victims — evidence that helped convince a judge to release James Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Damien Echols last year.
Worldview entertainment will produce and finance the project. Elizabeth Fowler, Clark Peterson, Richard Saperstein and Worldview’s Christopher Woodrow, as well as Paul Harris Boardman, who co-wrote the script with Scott Derrickson will all produce
Durand can be seen next in David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis.” He is repped by WME, Alchemy Entertainment and attorney Dave Feldman.
