‘Once upon a Time's’ Barbara Hershey to Co-Star in Lifetime's ‘Damien’

8:19 AM EDT 3/17/2015 by Kara Michelle, Celebeat Reporter

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Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress Barbara Hershey, 67, last seen on the small-screen as Cora Mills in Once Upon A Time, will be co-starring in Lifetime's Damien, a straight-to-series TV sequel to 20th Century Fox's 1976 classic The Omen.

Developed for the premium cable network by Glen Mazzara, the former showrunner for Walking Dead, Damien will serve to reboot and continue the storyline from the original Omen film, and will particularly focus on Damien Thorn's full realization of his dark powers and evil destiny as the Antichrist. The pilot season will comprise of just six episodes centering on Damien who has grown up, seemingly still unaware of the satanic forces around him and within his very being. Bradley James, 31, best known for his role as the young King Arthur in BBC's Merlin, is set to play the part of Damien. 

Hershey is cast in the role of Ann Rutledge, described as "the world's most powerful woman who has been tasked with making sure Damien fulfills his destiny as the Antichrist."

Hershey joins James in Damien, along with previously confirmed cast regulars Megalyn Echikunwoke who will play Simone Baptiste, described as "a woman who grew up in the shadow of her overachieving sister whose life is thrown into turmoil when tragedy strikes, leading her to question her religious faith," and Omid Abtahi who will play Amani Golkar, described as "Damien's big hearted wingman and best friend who doesn't know Damien's dark secret."

Ross Fineman and Pancho Mansfield, along with Mazzara will executive produce the project, of which Lifetime executive Rob Sharenow says: "Glen Mazzara has re-imagined him [Damien] as a dark, romantic, anti-hero and this fresh take blends complex characters with premium storytelling to make something truly original."

Omen, the 1976 original film directed by Richard Donner which starred Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and Harvey Stephens has spawned three sequels and a 2006 remake starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. 

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