EXCLUSIVE: Tom Brittney (Greyhound, Grantchester) has been set as co-lead of the MGM+ series The Westies, opposite J.K. Simmons in the upcoming period crime drama series from Chris Brancato, co-creator, executive producer, and showrunner, and Michael Panes.
The Westies is set in the early 1980s when the construction of the Jacob Javitz Convention Center on the Westies’ home turf in Hell’s Kitchen promises a financial windfall for the Irish-American organized crime gang. Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, The Westies’ legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. However, internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI’s ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.
Brittney will play James “Jimmy” Roarke, the fiercely loyal, streetwise leader of the younger generation of Westies, a rising Irish gangster mentored by Eamon Sweeney (Simmons), whose allegiances will be challenged as the Westies forge a partnership with the Gambino Crime Family.
In addition to Simmons, Titus Welliver and Jessica Frances Dukes make up the previously announced cast.
Production on the eight-episode The Westies will begin in July in Toronto with casting by Seth Yanklewitz, CSA, and Ben Pollack.
Brittney is best known for starring in and directing multiple episodes of the PBS and ITV British series Grantchester. He recently appeared in Netflix’s spy-comedy Back in Action, working alongside Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. Previously, he starred opposite Tom Hanks in the Sony/Apple film Greyhound. Other notable credits include the lead role in BBC’s Make Me Famous, recurring roles in Starz’s Outlander and Lifetime’s UnReal, and a supporting role in Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool opposite Annette Bening.
Beyond acting, he co-founded Wild Nest Pictures, a production company dedicated to developing original film and TV projects. Brittney is represented by Authentic Talent & Literary Management, Gersh, United Agents in the UK, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, et al.
