‘Rake’ Actor Ian Colletti Is Arseface in AMC's TV Adaptation of DC Comic's ‘Preacher’

Ian Colletti, 18, best remembered for his role as Finn Deane in Fox's Rake, has been cast as Eugene Root, better known as Arseface, in AMC's upcoming TV show Preachers that is adapted from the original DC Comics Vertigo label's serialized story of the same name created by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.

Colletti's character is described by Deadline thus: "Even with his horribly disfigured face and severe speech impediment, Eugene's still the nicest kid you'll ever meet and really looks up to Jesse. Stomach-churningly difficult to look at, Eugene's the town's reviled Frankenstein's monster, but that won't change his earnest, sweet and pure outlook on life. However, he is troubled by something terrible he's done in the past - something he fears might have turned God himself against him." Based on his comic book origin, Arseface got himself severely disfigured following a failed suicide attempt.

The young Colletti joins Ruth Negga, 33, best known for her portrayal of the mysterious girl in the flower dress known only as Raina, a recurring character in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that airs on ABC, who is confirmed cast as the assassin Tulip O'Hare, the romantic female lead in the DC graphic novel series about a preacher named Jesse Custer in the small town of Annville in Texas who was accidentally possessed by the supernatural entity known only as Genesis in an incident which killed his entire congregation and flattened his church.

Genesis, according to the comic book story, is the product of the unauthorized, unnatural coupling of an angel and a demon, and is an infant with no sense of individual will. However, as the entity is composed of both pure goodness and pure evil, it might have enough power to rival that of God Himself. With Jesse Custer now bonded to Genesis, he may have become the most powerful being in the whole of living existence. Custer/Genesis goes on a cross-country journey attempting to literally find the God who abandoned Heaven the moment he came into being. He also begins to discover the truth about his new powers, which among others allow him, when he wills, to command the obedience of those who hear and comprehend his words. In his quest to find God, he is joined by his old girlfriend Tulip and by a hard-drinking Irish vampire named Cassidy. Along the way, they encounter assorted obstacles and enemies which hinder them in their search for God, particularly including an immortal, unstoppable killing machine dubbed the Saint of Killers, a western lone gunman archetype whose sole purpose for being is to hunt and kill Jesse.

According to The Wrap, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will be executive producing and directing Preacher for AMC. Sam Catlin will also executive produce and write for the pilot series as well as serve as showrunner. Rogen and Goldberg in their press announcement said: "Preacher has been our favorite comic since it first came out. Garth Ennis is one of our idols and it's an incredible honor to be working on this. We promise we won't make too many dick jokes and ruin it."

An exclusive report from Tracking Board says that Dominic Cooper, 36, who plays Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, is likely to be cast as the Preacher Jesse. Filming is set to begin this summer.