FilmEngine has announced that Downton Abbey actor Allen Leech will be added to the cast of their new thriller Hunter’s Prayer, starring Sam Worthington (Avatar). Based on Kevin Wignall’s novel For the Dogs, the story will follow Stephen Lucas (Worthington), an assassin hired to target a young woman (Odeya Rush, The Giver) with whom he ultimately bonds, and the two go on the run together across Europe. Leech will presumably play Lucas’s former employer.
The project is being directed by Jonathan Mostow (U-571) and is currently in filming stages.
Leech is fresh off his supporting role in The Weinstein Co.’s The Imitation Game, a film expected to do well in this year’s award circuit. With that being his first U.S. production, it won’t be surprising if roles start pouring in for the actor. He has already begun to make his mark with Downton Abbey fans, as he reprises his role as Tom Branson in the series’ fifth season, set to premiere in the U.S. this January.