The Canadian actress most recently co-starred opposite James Franco in the Hulu limited series ‘11.22.63.’
The Canadian actress has been tapped to topline Netflix’s Margaret Atwood drama Alias Grace, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Gadon, who most recently co-starred opposite James Franco in Hulu’s Stephen King limited series 11.22.63, will play Grace Marks in the streaming giant and Canadian broadcaster CBC’s adaptation of Atwood’s award-winning novel.
Published in 1996, Alias Grace follows Grace Marks, a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, in 1843. McDermott was hanged, while Marks was sentenced to life imprisonment. She became one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of 1840s Canada for her supposed role in the sensational double murder and was eventually exonerated after 30 years in jail. Her conviction was controversial and sparked much debate over whether she actually was involved in the killings or merely an unwitting accessory.