Tom Burke to star in BBC version of J.K. Rowling's Cormoran Strike novels

LONDON, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- British actor Tom Burke has been cast as Cormoran Strike in three TV events based on crime novels penned by J.K Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

The Strike Series will include three, hour-long episodes of The Cuckoo's Calling; two, hour-long installments of The Silkworm; and two, hour-long episodes of Career of Evil. Production is to begin this autumn in London, the BBC announced Wednesday.

Burke is best known for his portrayal of Fedor Dolokhov in the miniseries War & Peace and Athos in the small-screen, adventure series The Musketeers. His next role will be as Strike, "a war veteran turned private detective, operating out of a tiny office in London's Denmark Street," a press release noted.

"Though he's wounded both physically and psychologically, Strike's unique insight and his background as an SIB Investigator prove crucial in solving three complex cases, which have eluded the police."

"I'm overjoyed to be immersing myself in the role of Cormoran Strike, who is as complex as he is larger than life," Burke said in a statement. "I know I'm joining an extraordinary team of people on a series that for me is peppered with moments of real emotional depth and meticulously grounded in the page-turning momentum of these novels. Cormoran's world is rich and raw."

"I'm thrilled about the casting of Tom Burke, a massively talented actor who'll bring the character to perfect life," added Rowling. "Cormoran Strike is pure joy to write and I can't wait to see Tom play him."

Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts and Elizabeth Kilgarriff will executive produce the project, based on scripts by Ben Richards, who will write The Cuckoo's Calling and The Silkworm, and Tom Edge, who will write Career of Evil.

Rowling is famous for her Harry Potter series of fantasy novels.