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Comedian Dane Cook joins cast of Starz series 'American Gods'

By Yvette C. Hammett
Actor and comedian Dane Cook attends the 4th Biennial Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser at the Dolby Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on September 5, 2014. He is joining the cast of Starz "American Gods," a fantasy about the skirmish between old and new gods. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Actor and comedian Dane Cook attends the 4th Biennial Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser at the Dolby Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on September 5, 2014. He is joining the cast of Starz "American Gods," a fantasy about the skirmish between old and new gods. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, July 18 (UPI) -- Comedian Dane Cook is taking on a whole new role, joining the cast of the Starz new fantasy series American Gods.

The series and the novel of the same name written by Neil Gaiman, centers on a war that's about to get under way between the old gods and the new ones who are attracting many of their followers more interested in money, technology, celebrity and drugs, Hollywood Reporter reported.

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American Gods protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes a travel companion and body guard for Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), one of the older gods, traveling with him cross country to gather forces in preparation for battle with the new gods.

Cook will play Robbie, Shadow Moon's best friend. Shadow Moon is played by Ricky Whittle. Robbie looks after his wife Laura, played by Emily Browning, while Shadow is in prison. He is relying on Robbie to keep his job at a gym until his release, Entertainment reported.

Betty Gilpin, formerly with the cast of Nurse Jackie, has been signed to the role of Robbie's wife, Audrey.

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RELATED Gillian Anderson to play Media on 'American Gods'

The cast also includes Pablo Schreiber (Mad Sweeney), Yetide Badaki (Bilquis), Bruce Langley (Technical Boy), Crispin Glover (Mr. World), Jonathan Tucker (Low Key Lyesmith), Gillian Anderson (Media), Peter Stormare (Czernobog), Orlando Jones (Mr. Nancy) and Cloris Leachman (Zorya Vechernyaya).

Most well known for his stand-up comedy, this won't be Cook's first dabble in to drama. He was in the thriller 400 Days and had a 2011 part on Hawaii Five-O. More recently, he guest-starred on Comedy Central's Workaholics.

American Gods, executive produced by Michael Green, Bryan Fuller and Gaiman, is set to premiere on Starz in 2017. Production on the first 10 episodes is under way now in Toronto.

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