Update! Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis Cast as Leads in Showtime's Billions

Update: Showtime has confirmed 12 one-hour episodes of Billions will begin production later this year. The series will shoot in New York and is slated for a 2016 premiere.

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Ever since the HBO series Band of Brothers, I’ve been a huge fan of Damian Lewis because of his ability to add a level of sincerity to his characters. Along with Paul Giamatti, who is also an Emmy® and Golden Globe winner, Billions is shaping up to be a great show with a great cast.

In a press release:

OSCAR^® NOMINEE PAUL GIAMATTI AND GOLDEN GLOBE^® WINNER DAMIAN LEWIS CAST AS LEADS

IN THE SHOWTIME^® DRAMA PROJECT BILLIONS

Acclaimed Director Neil Burger To Direct The Pilot

NEW YORK, NY – October 24, 2014 – Today, SHOWTIME announced that Oscar nominee and Emmy^® and Golden Globe winner Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis (Homeland) have been cast in the lead roles of the complex, contemporary drama pilot BILLIONS. Written and executive produced by Brian Koppelman and David Levien and Andrew Ross Sorkin, BILLIONS is a fictional drama that takes a forensic look at the world of high finance by tracking the approaching collision between two titanic figures – the hard charging, whip-smart U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhodes (Giamatti), and the brilliant, ambitious hedge fund king, Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (Lewis). Acclaimed director Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Divergent, Limitless) has signed on to direct the drama pilot, which will be filmed in New York in early 2015.

One of the most critically-acclaimed and lauded actors in the business, Paul Giamatti’s varied roles have garnered countless nominations and wins, including an Academy Award^®  nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” for his role in the feature film Cinderella Man, and multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and wins for his work across film and television. His feature film credits include Sideways,Saving Mr. Banks, The Ides of March, American Splendor, Barney’s Version, Win Win, The Last Station, Cold Souls,Straight Outta Compton, 12 Years a Slave and The Illusionist, which was produced by BILLIONS executive producers Brian Koppelman and David Levien. His television and miniseries credits include John Adams, Too Big To Fail – which was based on the best-selling book by BILLIONS executive producer Andrew Ross Sorkin – and Downton Abbey, which earned him an Emmy Award nomination for “Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series” earlier this year. Giamatti was honored with a Golden Globe in 2011 for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture” for his work in Barney’s Version. He was also recognized with a Golden Globe for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television” and an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie” for his lead role in John Adams. He is the recipient of multiple Screen Actors Guild Award wins for his work in Too Big to Fail, John Adams, Cinderella Man and Sideways.

With an expansive list of diverse film, theatre and television credits, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Damian Lewis returns to SHOWTIME after three seasons on the critically-acclaimed hit drama HOMELAND. Lewis’ performance on the series earned him a 2013 Golden Globe Award for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama” and a 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series,” among other accolades. Lewis first came to the attention of American audiences in 2001 with his Golden Globe-nominated performance as World War II hero Richard Winters in the award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers, directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Tom Hanks. His additional television and miniseries credits include The Forsyte Saga, Series 1 and II,  Life, Warriors, Hearts and Bones, Jeffrey Archer – The Truth, Colditz and ShakespeaRe-Told: Much Ado About Nothing, as well as the upcoming BBC production of Wolf Hall. His film credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Sweeney, Your Highness, The Escapist, Brides, Keane, The Situation, Dreamcatcher, and theupcoming Queen of the Desert and Our Kind of Traitor.

Neil Burger wrote and directed The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton and BILLIONS star Paul Giamatti, which earned Burger an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay. Most recently, Burger directed the worldwide blockbuster Divergent, and he will executive produce its sequel Insurgent. His additional film directing and writing credits include Limitless, Interview with the Assassin and The Lucky Ones, and the upcoming feature All The Old Knives.

David Levien and Brian Koppelman have written, directed and produced a number of critically-acclaimed projects including Rounders, Runaway Jury, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Girlfriend Experience, Runner Runner – all of which they co-wrote, and Knockaround Guys and Solitary Man, which they wrote and directed. Levien and Koppelman also served as producers on The Illusionist, Interview With The Assassin and The Lucky Ones. Earlier this year, they were honored with Emmy Awards for directing “This Is What They Want,” an episode of the ESPN docu-series 30 for 30. Levien has authored several novels including City Of The Sun, and the upcoming Signature Kill. Koppelman hosts the influential podcast “The Moment with Brian Koppelman.”

Andrew Ross Sorkin is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a columnist for The New York Times and co-anchor of Squawk Box, CNBC’s signature morning program.  He wrote the best-selling book Too Big to Fail: How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System – and Themselves (Viking, 2009), which chronicled the events of the 2008 financial crisis. He served as a co-producer of HBO Films’ adaptation of his book in 2011. Sorkin is also the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook, an online daily financial report published by The New York Times that he started in 2001.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.