Orphan Black Adds An Interesting Trio To The Cast

By Nick Venable | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

michiel huismanAll it takes is Tatiana Maslany’s presence to give BBC America’s Orphan Black a leg up on any other TV series when it comes to having a sublime cast. Luckily, she’s surrounded by the likes of Jordan Gavaris, Matt Frewer, Kevin Hanchard and Michael Mando, among others, so the show rarely features a sour performance. And as we wait, sometimes not so patiently, for the second season to arrive, Orphan Black‘s producers continue to expand this already rich universe, and they’ve added Michiel Huisman, Peter Outerbridge, and Ari Millen to the cast.

Huisman, who appeared in Marc Forster’s World War Z earlier this year, will take on a recurring role as a rugged outdoorsman named Cal Morrison. There isn’t a whole lot to go on there, and I don’t recall seeing anything even vaguely outdoorsy in the first season. (This was one of the characters first discussed by the creators a couple of months ago.) Outerbridge, who stars in the CW’s spy thriller Nikita, also has a recurring role as Henrik “Hank” Johannsen, a “mercurial modern-day cowboy,” which is another confounding description, considering this show is worlds away from a western. Finally, Millen will play Mark, a “cunning predator with a dark edge.” That sounds more in line with what you expect from Orphan Black, but there’s no mention of this being a recurring part, so maybe he’ll just be there for a single episode.

The second season is meant to take place shortly after the first one, so I wonder if Sarah/Alsion/Cosima will run into these characters during the hunt for Sarah’s daughter Kira. Or maybe there’s someone new in Alison’s neighborhood, or one of them could be another minion for Dr. Leekie. Or all three. Also, it’s possible Fe will get to have his way with one of them. Is he the cowboy type? We shall see.

Huisman, born in the Netherlands, first gained acclaim in the U.S. for his role as a wandering street musician on HBO’s New Orleans-centered drama Treme, and is continuing his TV career on NBC’s Nashville. He was also in the pilot for The Sixth Gun that NBC passed on not long ago. You can see him in the fourth season premiere of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

With roles in everything from Brian De Palma’s Mission to Mars to Chris Carter‘s Millennium, Outerbridge is also currently starring in the Canadian period drama Bomb Girls. He will soon be seen the paranormal thriller Haunter from Cube director Vincenzo Natali.

Millen is the least accomplished of the three, with roles in such films as John Geddes’ Civil War zombie horror Exit Humanity and Jesse T. Cook’s wrestling horror comedy Monster Brawl. He’ll soon be seen in Geddes’ horror Hellmouth and Allen Bergeron’s sci-fi flick Ebryonic.

Orphan Black is set to premiere in April 2014, which I’d love to complain about, but I know it’ll be worth the wait.