Tom Burke Cast as Lead in BBC’s J.K. Rowling Dramas

LONDON: British actor Tom Burke will star as Cormoran Strike in three event dramas for BBC One based on J.K. Rowling’s crime novels written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

The Cuckoo’s Calling (3×60 minutes), The Silkworm (2×60 minutes) and Career of Evil (2×60 minutes) will be produced as three separate event dramas. Burke, who most recently starred in BBC’s epic War & Peace as Fedor Dolokhov and in The Musketeers as Athos, will play Strike, a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office on London’s Denmark Street. Shooting will begin this fall in London. Rowling is among the executive producers.

“I’m overjoyed to be immersing myself in the role of Cormoran Strike, who is as complex as he is larger than life,” said Burke. “I know I’m joining an extraordinary team of people on a series that for me is peppered with moments of real emotional depth and meticulously grounded in the page-turning momentum of these novels. Cormoran’s world is rich and raw.”

“I’m thrilled about the casting of Tom Burke, a massively talented actor who’ll bring the character to perfect life,” added Rowling. “Cormoran Strike is pure joy to write and I can’t wait to see Tom play him.”

“Tom Burke has all the talent, depth and versatility needed to take on the mantle of Cormoran Strike,” commented Ruth Kenley-Letts, executive producer. “He’ll bring his own particular wisdom, charisma and emotional complexity to the part. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with him.”

Lucy Richer, BBC’s acting controller of drama, said: “Tom Burke is the perfect person to bring to life the lead character of Cormoran Strike from these investigative crime stories which are the work of a master storyteller. Readers have fallen for Strike and I think the television audience will too.”