Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks join Billy Bob Thornton in FX’s ‘Fargo’ series

The cast of FX’s planned limited series based on the classic Coen Brothers film Fargo is getting bigger. This week, Sherlock’s Martin Freeman and Dexter’s Colin Hanks joined the project.

On Monday, Freeman joined the project, taking the lead role, reports MTV News. Freeman has just completed work on Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, in which he stars as Bilbo Baggins. The second film in the series, The Desolation of Smaug, hits theaters on Dec. 13.

Hanks joined the series on Wednesday, reports TheWrap. The actor appeared on Dexter in 2011 and most recently starred in episodes of NCIS. His role was not confirmed.

Last month, Billy Bob Thornton agreed to star in the series, which will run 10 episodes. He was cast as Lorne Malvo, a stranger who shows up in town, while Freeman will play Lester Nygaard, an insurance salesman with a nagging wife. (Which sounds like William H. Macy’s role in the film.)

Joel and Ethan Coen will be involved in the project as executive producers. Their film was released in 1996 and won Oscars for their screenplay and Frances McDormand’s performance. FX and MGM Television are co-producing the series.

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