John Travolta is returning to television for the first time in over 30 years. He took a starring role in FX’s upcoming miniseries American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson.
Travolta has been cast as Shapiro, a member of O.J. Simpson’s legal team. He also joined the series as a producer, the network said.
The two-time Oscar nominated actor is just the fourth star to join the cast. Cuba Gooding Jr. has been cast as Simpson, while David Schwimmer will star as Robert Kardashian, another member of Simpson’s legal team. Sarah Paulson of American Horror Story will also star as prosecutor Marcia Clark.
People vs O.J. Simpson will be the first ACS season, since the series is being planned as an anthology program, like Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story. It will run 10 episodes.
The series was written by Biy Eyes team Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, with Murphy directing the first episode. It is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s The Run of His Life: The People vs O.J. simpson, which centers on the sensational murder trial of Simpson.
Travolta’s next film is The Forger and he’s completed filming on three other movies. He was nominated for Oscars for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. The last time he was on TV in a regular role, he starred in Welcome Back, Kotter.
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