Gillian Anderson to play Media on 'American Gods'

LOS ANGELES, June 3 (UPI) -- Gillian Anderson has joined the cast of American Gods.

The 47-year-old actress confirmed the news on Twitter after news outlets reported her casting Friday. Anderson will play the god Media in the Starz series adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel.

"It's true! @AmericanGodsSTZ Excited to work with @neilhimself @BryanFuller @andmichaelgreen," she wrote of Gaiman and series creators Bryan Fuller and Michael Green.

American Gods follows the ex-con Shadow (Ricky Whittle), who is sucked into a war between the Old Gods of mythology and the New Gods of modern day after agreeing to work for the mysterious Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane).

Anderson's character serves as the "mouthpiece" and "public face and sales representative" for the New Gods. She takes the form of different celebrities and thrives off the attention people give to their TV, computer and phone screens.

The X-Files star previously collaborated with Fuller on the NBC series Hannibal. American Gods co-stars Emily Browning, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Jonathan Tucker and Crispin Glover and will premiere in 2017.

Anderson is best known for playing Dana Scully on The X-Files, which completed a six-episode revival in February. The actress also portrays Stella Gibson on The Fall, which will return for a third season this year.