EXCLUSIVE: Tim Guinee is set to star in The Staircase, HBO Max’s limited series drama adaptation based on the true-crime docuseries. He joins previously announced Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Odessa Young, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Sophie Turner and Michael Stuhlbarg..
The eight-episode series from Christine director Antonio Campos and American Crime Story writer Maggie Cohn explores the life of Michael Peterson (Firth), his sprawling North Carolina family and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen (Collette).
Guinee will play Bill Peterson, Michael Peterson’s (Firth) younger brother and an attorney by training.
The series is based on the docuseries and various books and reports on the case of Michael Peterson, who was convicted in 2003 of murdering Kathleen two years earlier. The charge was reduced to manslaughter in 2017, and Peterson subsequently was released from prison. He had claimed his wife died after falling down the stairs at their home after consuming alcohol and Valium, but an autopsy concluded she died from multiple injuries, including blows to the back of her head with a blunt object.
The Staircase is written and executive produced by Campos and Cohn, who also serve as showrunners. The series is a co-production between HBO Max and Annapurna TV.
Guinee’s extensive credits include series Homeland and Hell On Wheels and Ramin Bahrain’s movie 99 Homes. He can currently be seen leading the independent film Ash and appearing in Harriet with Cynthia Erivo. Guinee will next appear in Shonda Rhimes’ Netflix limited series Inventing Anna, opposite Julia Garner.
He is repped by Josiah Akinyele and Thomas Cushing at Innovative Artists and managed by Atil Singh at Principal Entertainment LA and Sue Liebman at Barking Dog Entertainment.