Musician Marilyn Manson has revealed he's joined the cast of the CBS All Access limited series adaptation of The Stand. After a rather bumpy road to production, CBS’s streaming service finally confirmed in January that it had officially ordered a 10-episode limited series based on Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic horror novel of the same name. Josh Boone (The New Mutants) is directing the series, and shares writing credits with King and Benjamin Cavell (SEAL Team).
Set in the aftermath of a flu pandemic that kills 99% of the world’s human population, The Stand focuses on an epic battle between survivors that comes about after the breakdown of civilized society, with the good led by the wise and benevolent Mother Abigail and the evil by the demonic Randall Flagg. It’s one of King’s longest novels and was previously adapted for the small screen in 1994 as an ABC miniseries starring Gary Sinise, Rob Lowe and Molly Ringwald. Unlike the 1990s adaptation, the new series will have a sizeable budget and a lot more violence according to King, and has reportedly already cast a number of actors including James Marsden, Amber Heard, Greg Kinnear and Whoopi Goldberg.
Now it looks like those talents will be joined by Marilyn Manson too. Speaking with Revolver about his forthcoming album - a collaboration with Shooter Jennings - Manson revealed he and Jennings had also recorded a song for The Stand, and dropped the news he’d nabbed a part in the series as well:
Shooter and I also did a cover of "The End" by the Doors, for a new miniseries of The Stand by Stephen King, which I'm also going to be acting in.
Manson didn’t give any hints as to who he’ll be playing in The Stand but given his onstage persona, he seems an obvious choice for the satanic Randall Flagg. On the other hand, perhaps that’s too obvious of a choice. Another possibility could be Trashcan Man, an insanely devoted disciple of Flagg's. As music is more Manson’s thing than acting, it’s likely he’s been cast in a smaller role than Randall Flagg or Trashcan Man though.
That said, The Stand won’t be Manson’s first foray onto the screen. Contrary to popular belief, Manson didn’t play Kevin Arnold’s geeky sidekick Paul on The Wonder Years, but he’s had bit parts in films and shows since the late 1990s, including David Lynch’s Lost Highway, Californication and Once Upon a Time. More recently, Manson had a recurring role as Aryan Brotherhood shot-caller Ron Tully on Sons of Anarchy, and as the psychotic Thomas Dinley on Salem. He’s also recently joined the cast of HBO’s The New Pope alongside Sharon Stone and John Malkovich. Given that Manson seems to be upping his acting game at the moment, he could well have been cast in a meatier role than usual in The Stand. For now, we’ll have to wait for more casting news from CBS for confirmation.
Source: Revolver