National Geographic’s ‘The Right Stuff’ has recast one of its leads. ‘Once Upon A Time’s Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook) has stepped in to replace Joe Dempsie in the role of Lt. Gordon “Gordo” Cooper. Dempsie was forced to exit the series due to visa issues.
Patrick J. Adams will portray Major John Glenn, while Jake McDorman portrays Alan Shephard. With O’Donoghue’s Cooper, they will be the main stars of ‘The Right Stuff’. The cast also includes Josh Cooke as ‘Life’ journalist Loudon Wainwright Jr., Patrick Fischler as rocket scientist Bob Gilruth, Eric Ladin as Chris Kraft, James Lafferty as Scott Carpenter, Shannon Lucio as Louise Shepard, Eloise Mumford as Trudy Cooper, Aaron Staton as Wally Schirra, Micah Stock as Deke Slayton, Michael Trotter as Gus Grissom, and Nora Zehetner as Annie Glenn.
The Right Stuff, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way and Warner Horizon Scripted Television, looks at what would become America’s first “reality show,” as the ambitious astronauts and their families become instant celebrities in a competition that either will kill them or make them immortal in the quest to be a part of Project Mercury.
O’Donoghue’s Cooper was the youngest of the Mercury Seven whose selection for the mission was a surprise to everyone. Eloise Mumford plays his wife Trudy.
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The first season of ‘The Right Stuff’ will be based on Tom Wolfe’s best-selling nonfiction book of the same name, which was previously adapted into a film in 1983. Dennis Quaid portrayed Cooper in that version. Future seasons of the show will explore the Apollo missions and the first man on the moon, and beyond (should it prove to be a hit).
Filming is expected to begin this summer in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
O’Donoghue is probably best known for playing Captain Hook/Killian Jones on ‘Once Upon A Time’. He will next be seen on the Netflix anthology series ‘Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings’.
‘The Right Stuff’ will be released in 2020.
Source: Deadline
