Peter Berg Sets Cast to Join Taylor Kitsch in Netflix's 'American Primeval' with additions Betty Gilpin, Dane DeHaan, Jai Courtney & More

by Darian Scalamoni

    We reported back in December that Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Patriots Day) had a Netflix series in development starring Taylor Kitsch titled American Primeval. Now, we have more news on who will be joining Kitsch to star alongside the True Detective actor. According to Deadline, Betty Gilpin (GLOW, The Hunt), Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys, Divergent) will all join the six-episode series that chronicles the birth of the American West.

    Deadline also added that the rest of the cast has been rounded out ahead of the start of production as Shea Whigham, Joe Tippett, Kyle Bradley Davis, Nick Hargrove, Derek Hinkey, Saura Lightfoot Leon, Preston Mota and Shawnee Pourier also join the cast. The ensemble will help tell the story of sacrifice that many must pay when they enter a world in which there are no laws and violent battles as men and women look to take control of the new world and land that they believe is their own.

    Gilpin will play Sara Rowell, a woman who is more composed and graceful than she has any right to be considering the conditions of Fort Bridger. She is seeking a guide in the series across the frontier for her and her son, Devin. DeHaan portrays Jacob Pratt, a Mormon man who is leading his family across the land to join settlers in Utah. Meanwhile, Courtney will portray Virgil Cutter, a trapper and bounty hunter who stalks the others on their respective journeys. 

    Gilpin is best known for her role as Debbie or "Liberty Belle" in Netflix's female wrestling dramedy GLOW before appearing in the Starz drama series, Gaslit and AppleTV+'s Roar in 2022. She'll next star in streaming series Mrs. Davis for Peacock and Three Women on Showtime along with Shailene Woodley and DeWanda Wise.

    DeHaan gained recognition in Hollywood for his role in Josh Trank's debut sci-fi thriller Chronicle before appearing in other films such as Lawless, The Place Beyond the Pines and Lincoln. He also portrayed the villainous Green Goblin in the Andrew Garfield-led film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2. DeHaan most recently joined his co-stars by appearing across many different streaming series since 2019 including ZeroZeroZero for Amazon, Lisey's Story for AppleTV+ and The Staircase for HBO Max. He just wrapped filming on the GameStop wall street drama Dumb Money and is amongst the many in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer this July.

    Courtney is best recognized for his role as Captain Boomerang in both Suicide Squad films for Warner Bros. and DC, however, he already has a major role in a 2023 project in the books starring as Bob Goodwin in the Netflix experimental heist project, Kaleidoscope. In addition to American Primeval, he's also in production on feature films such as dark comedy The Fox with Morfydd Clark from The Rings of Power and Catching Dust with Erin Moriarty of The Boys fame.