Olivia Williams & Harry Lloyd Sign On to Starz Spy Thriller COUNTERPART

Starz announced today that Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense, Hyde Park on Hudson, "Manhattan") and Harry Lloyd (The Theory of Everything, Jane Eyre, "Manhattan") will star opposite Oscar(R) winner JK Simmons (Whiplash, The Accountant, Juno) in the espionage thriller with a metaphysical twist, COUNTERPART, from MRC, Anonymous Content and Gilbert Films. Academy Award(R) nominee Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game, Passengers) will direct the first episode.

"Counterpart" is the story of Howard SILK (JK Simmons), a lowly cog in a bureaucratic agency, who discovers that the agency he works for is really guarding a crossing into a parallel dimension. Through Howard and his "Counterpart" on the other side, the show will navigate themes of identity, what ifs and lost love. Starz ordered two seasons of 10 episodes each of "Counterpart" in 2015

Williams will play the role of Emily Burton Silk, Howard's wife, a mysterious woman whose secrets become the centerpiece of the first season's story. Williams has appeared in numerous films including Rushmore, The Ghost Writer, Maps to the Stars, The Sixth Sense and is currently filming Stephen Frears' Victoria & Abdul. Television credits include "Manhattan," "Dollhouse," and "Halcyon" series as Lady Priscilla Hamilton.

Lloyd is cast in the role of Peter Quayle, an upper-crust director at Howard's agency, whose carefully calibrated career slowly begins to unravel as he sinks deeper into the world of espionage and double lives. Lloyd is currently performing "The Good Canary," directed by John Malkovich at the Rose Theatre Kingston opposite of Freya Mavor. Lloyd is most known for his portrayal of 'Viserys Targaryen' in "Game of Thrones." Lloyd has recently signed on to star in the independent film, The Wife, starring opposite Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce.

Created and written by Justin Marks (The Jungle Book), "Counterpart" is executive produced by Tyldum and Marks with Amy Berg ("American Masters," Every Secret Thing), Jordan Horowitz (La La Land), Keith Redmon (The Revenant) and Bard Dorros (The Take) with Anonymous Content, and Gary Gilbert (La La Land) with Gilbert Films. Simmons also serves as a producer.

Williams is represented by ICM Partners, Sally Long-Innes at Independent and James Adams at Schreck, Rose, Dapello & Adams.

Lloyd is represented by ICM Partners, Curtis Brown Group, and Brookside Artist Management.

Casting by Jeanne McCarthy, Nicole Abellera, and Leslie Woo from McCarthy/Abellera

About Starz Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television networks (Starz Networks) and global content distribution (Starz Distribution), www.starz.com. The Starz Networks operating unit is home to the flagship STARZ(R) brand with 24.2 million subscribers in the United States as of June 30, 2016, with the Starz ENCORESM network at 31.8 million subscribers. Through STARZ, the company provides high quality, entertaining premium subscription video programming with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online services. Starz is sold through U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and digital platforms. Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000 distinct premium television episodes and feature films every year and up to 1,500 every month, including Starz Original series, first-run movies and other popular movie and television programming. The Starz Distribution operating unit is home to the Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Digital, and Starz Worldwide Distribution divisions. In addition to Starz Original series, Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires movies, television and other entertainment content for worldwide home video, digital, and television licensing and sales.