American actor will play the lead in a new television series from HBO about a middle-aged man that makes his living from wagering on horseracing.
Acclaimed American actor Dustin Hoffman has agreed to star in a new television mini-series for HBO entitled Luck playing the role of a pensioner that has recently been released from prison and makes his living betting on horseracing.
According to a report from Variety magazine, Hoffman’s character is loosely based on real-life trainer Julio Canani, who has been on the racing circuit in southern California for decades and is responsible for three winners of the Breeders' Cup.
Also set to star actors Dennis Farina and John Ortiz, Luck is the brainchild of David Milch, the producer of Western epic Deadwood and surf noir series John From Cincinnati, with the pilot being directed by Michael Mann. Farina has been cast as the lead character's driver and companion while Ortiz will portray a middle-aged Peruvian horse trainer.
Although Hoffman has spent much of his career appearing on the big screen, he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Willy Loman in the 1985 television adaptation of Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman.
