Iain Glen who plays noble knight Ser Jorah Mormont in HBO's hit "Game of Thrones" is part of "Cleverman," an Australian drama that airs on Sundance TV in the United States. Glen stars as a TV executive Jarrod Slade who is connected to the titular Cleverman.
Glen signed up for the film after reading two scripts, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The actor was immediately drawn to the script and the subject.
"Cleverman" is about two brothers caught up in the battle between the indigenous Hairypeople and human beings. From the Aboriginal mythology, the Hairypeople or "Hairies" have matted fur that covers their body as well as sharp, long nails which make them look like Werewolves. However, the humanoid race of people is humans with their own culture and language who existed way ahead of humans.
Also called "subhumans," hairies have superhuman speed and strength. One of them called the "Cleverman" is connected to the alternate world.
The Australian show centers on the oppressive measures taken by the Australian government to separate the Hairies from humans. The government keeps them in the Zone, a racial ghetto, and they attempt to be with the human world.
Glen's character, the manipulative and self-serving Slade covers the Hairies being pursued by the police to boost the ratings of his TV shows. He is a rich man who wears suits, a media magnate with a huge business empire in real estate and pharmaceuticals. He befriends the power players of the media who exploit the public fear.
Slade funds a medical center in Zone where his spouse is a doctor. He is a friend of the original Cleverman before the latter died and passed the mantle to a reluctant and young successor. Glen admitted the character has a duality in him because it is still unclear if he is on the side of the hairies or humans.
"He is like Richard Branson, in the sense of a self-made man who is often quite anti-government, very independent-minded," the Scottish actor told The Daily Beast. "He is more a man of the people-not an elite kind of wealth, but more fighting for the people."
"Cleverman" has several supernatural elements but relates to issues of indigenous people's rights, immigration, segregation and police brutality. The six-part series is set for a second season that airs at 9 p.m. on Sundance on Wednesdays.
Watch the trailer of 'Cleverman' Sundance below.