Mindhunter’s Holt McCallany joins Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

There's that old expression, "like calls to like." In Hollywood that adage often translates to "talent attracts talent." Oscar winning director (THE SHAPE OF WATER) Guillermo Del Toro's next project, a remake of 1947's NIGHTMARE ALLEY, has certainly done just that. The film has already cast Hollywood A-listers Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Willem Defoe, and Toni Collette, and now another talented thespian has entered the fray.

SULLY'S Holt McCallany has signed on for Del Toro's thriller and will play Anderson, "a get-the-job-done bruiser with more going on than is first apparent from his tough guy persona." McCallany has made his bones over the last three decades playing tough guy roles in films like ALIEN 3 and GANGSTER SQUAD. This part seems to be more of the same but hey McCallany's got this type of character down to a science at this point. Honestly, with all the talent involved in this project, adding another quality actor like McCallany is just a cherry on this badass bad dream sundae.

For those of you unfamiliar with the 1947 film starring Tyrone Power and Coleen Gray, or the novel by Lindsay Gresham, the story revolves, "around an ex-carnival con-man turned spiritualist, played by Cooper, who teams up with a female psychiatrist to scoop cash out of the wallets and lives of their wealthy marks with some less than holy moves – until things turn."

Aside from bruisers and thugs, McCallany's also played quite a few members of law enforcement over the years. He's currently crushing it on Netflix's series Mindhunter where he plays FBI special agent Bill Tench. If you haven't had a chance to check out the Netflix crime thriller yet I highly recommend it. Not only is McCallany phenomenal but the show is top-tier television. In addition to Mindhunter, the FIGHT CLUB veteran is currently overseas filming Guy Ritchie's latest, CASH TRUCK, an action thriller remake of the 2004 French film.

NIGHTMARE ALLEY is set to begin production next year in Toronto with the film releasing in 2021.