Big Little Lies Emmy winner Alexander Skarsgard is dancing to the beat of The Little Drummer Girl, the recently announced John le Carré adaptation from The Night Manager team of The Ink Factory, BBC One and AMC. Florence Pugh was already aboard the espionage thriller which has Park Chan-wook directing. Production on the six-part mini begins early next year with global sales handled by Endeavor Content/IMG.

Skarsgard is playing Becker, an intriguing stranger with whom Pugh’s brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance while on holiday in Greece. But it rapidly becomes apparent that Becker’s intentions are far from romantic. He’s an Israeli intelligence officer, who entangles her in a complex and high stakes plot which unfolds as she takes on the role of a lifetime in the ‘theater of the real.’ Set in the late 1970s, the series promises high-stakes international intrigue, love and betrayal. The book was published in 1983.

Park commented of Skarsgard, “To play an enigmatic man who hides his true feelings deep inside, I couldn’t think of a more fitting actor. I believe Skarsgård’s growing depth as a great character actor and his soaring energy will elevate The Little Drummer Girl to a higher place.”

The adaptation includes draft scripts penned by Apple Tree Yard‘s Amanda Coe, who moved on from the series to pursue her own upcoming projects, which include BBC One’s The Trial of Christine Keeler. Additional writers will be joining The Little Drummer Girl.

The series will be financed and produced by The Ink Factory in partnership with 127 Wall and co-producers the BBC and AMC. Laura Hastings-Smith is producer with The Ink Factory’s Simon and Stephen Cornwell serving as exec producers alongside le Carré, Mona Qureshi for the BBC, Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall, and Wonjo Jeong.

Skarsgard will next be seen in Duncan Jones’ Mute opposite Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux, and The Aftermath with Keira Knightley. He will also be seen in Hold The Dark, Netflix’s adventure thriller from director Jeremy Saulnier. Skarsgard is currently shooting Hummingbird for director Kim Nguyen. He’s repped by CAA and lawyers Steve Warren and Gretchen Rush.