Thesp goes 'Undercover'
Rhames set for NBC 'Undercover' work
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Rhames ("Baby Boy," "Mission: Impossible") will appear in at least three episodes of "UC," playing larger-than-life drug lord Quito Real. Skein is a Jersey Television production in association with 20th Century Fox TV, NBC Studios and Regency TV.
Salerno and Rhames worked together on the upcoming Sonny Liston biopic "Night Train," in which Rhames plays the legendary pugilist. Salerno wrote the screenplay for the William Friedkin-helmed pic from producers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.
Salerno said it's "a radically cool honor" to have Rhames as a guest on "UC."
"Ving Rhames is simply one of the finest actors in the world," Salerno said. "He is an extraordinarily gifted talent who lives and breathes the lives of the characters he so beautifully creates. I've been writing with (series co-creator) Don Winslow and supervising my staff to create scripts worthy of Ving's ferocious talent."
Salerno is hoping Rhames' casting will signal the start of a steady stream of feature thesps agreeing to do guest turns on "UC."
In addition to Rhames, Golden Globe nominee Steven Bauer ("Traffic") will appear in six episodes, while model-thesp Angie Everhart has locked in for a five-episode run.
Salerno has also used his feature connections to convince Grammy-winning composer David Arnold ("Independence Day") to compose the main title theme for "UC." Arnold and Salerno worked together on "Shaft," which Salerno co-wrote.
A remixed version of the theme will likely be released to radio stations. Salerno hopes the music on "UC" will be a distinctive selling point for the skein, much as it was on "Miami Vice" in the 1980s.
Rhames won a Golden Globe for his role in the HBO pic "Don King: Only in America." He also played attorney Johnnie Cochran in last year's CBS mini "American Tragedy."
His last major turn as a guest actor on a TV series was back in 1994, when he appeared on multiple episodes of "ER."
