As far as first impressions go, Swedish actor Martin Wallstrom (full name: Carl Martin Gunnar Wallström Milkéwitz) was one of the biggest highlights coming out of the inaugural season of Mr. Robot, and considering the sheer quality of USA Network’s acclaimed cyber-thriller, that’s quite the compliment.
It’s a breakout performance that hasn’t gone unnoticed, either, with The Hollywood Reporter today revealing that Wallstrom has landed a key role in Ashes in the Snow. Set to star opposite Bel Powley, the coming-of-age drama is lifted from Ruta Sepetys’ World War II best-seller Between Shades of Grey and will see Wallstrom don the military garb as a Soviet officer. Taunted for his Ukrainian upbringing, Wallstrom’s outcast strikes up an unlikely friendship with 16-year-old Lina Vilkas (Powley) and her ailing mother, lending them a shred of hope in an otherwise bitter and harsh environment.
Adapting Sepetys’ acclaimed novel to the big screen is director Marius Markevicius, who will also produce the feature alongside Jonathan Schwartz of Super Crispy Entertainment and Zilvinas Naujokas of Tauras Films.
Though it looks set to be a much more amicable role for Martin Wallstrom, if the Swedish actor brings even a shred of the intensity glimpsed during the opening season of Mr. Robot, today’s casting tidbit is something of a coup for Markevicius and Co..
Ashes in the Snow has been tentatively placed for a release in late 2016, with Ben York Jones on board to help transition the gruelling wartime drama from page to screen.
