"I was homeless, I didn't have any money, and I was living in my car. I was 18. I wasn't averse to going down to Santa Monica Boulevard and letting a guy buy me a sandwich. Know what I mean?"

Syfy's Leviathan Wakes adaptation titled The Expanse has cast its leading man.

Hung alum Thomas Jane has nabbed the starring role in the cable network's adaptation of James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes book series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The drama is described as a thriller set 200 years in the future and follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective (Jane) and a rogue ship's captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

STORY Syfy's Plan: More Space Operas, Less 'Sharknado'

Three-time Golden Globe-nominee Jane will play the world-weary Miller, a native of "the Asteroid Belt" between Mars and Jupiter. Miller is a detective for a corporate security force operating as the law in the Belt. Ragged, in search of something even he can't identify, Miller remains a dedicated cop with great instincts who discovers a newfound sense of purpose when he's put in charge of the investigation into a missing heiress.

The series hails from Alcon Television Group, with Oscar-nominated screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) attached as writers and exec producers. They'll serve as showrunners alongside fellow executive producer Naren Shankar (CSI). Sean Daniel and Jason Brown of the Sean Daniel Co. developed the pitch with Fergus and Ostby and are also on board to exec produce. Alcon co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson will exec produce alongside company president Sharon Hall. Alcon's Ben Roberts will co-produce, while Ben Cook will produce. The series marks the first series order for Alcon Television Group, a division of Alcon Entertainment.

PHOTOS Summer TV Preview

Jane, repped by Paradigm and Ziffren Brittenham, has three features due this year: The Veil, Somnia and Vice as well as a role in History's miniseries Texas Rising. His credits include The Mist, Dreamcatcher, Thin Red Line, Boogie Nights and 61*.

Syfy picked up The Expanse straight to series with a 10-episode commitment in April as part of its push to go back to its roots in the sci-fi/fantasy series it once ruled with Battlestar Galactica. The cable network also has ordered originals Z Nation, 12 Monkeys, Olympus, Dominion and six-episode space opera event series Ascension, to join a roster of originals that also includes Helix, Defiance, Haven, Lost Girl and Continuum.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com

Twitter: @Snoodit