EXCLUSIVE: Strange Darling‘s Willa Fitzgerald is starring opposite Russell Crowe and Harry Lawtey in Walden Media’s Cold War thriller Billion Dollar Spy, we can tell you first.
Fitzgerald will play Mae Lenihan, wife of CIA agent Tom Lenihan (Lawtey).
Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by David E. Hoffman and produced by Walden Media and Weed Road, the feature project is based on the true story of Adolf Tolkachev, an ordinary man whose extraordinary bravery made him the Pentagon’s most valuable spy.
Set against the high-stakes backdrop of the late Cold War, Billion Dollar Spy follows Tolkachev (Crowe), as he risks everything to pass thousands of pages of top-secret Soviet intelligence to the United States. Despite repeated rejections by a wary CIA, Tolkachev persisted, embodying the courage to stand against a regime that betrayed its own people.
Finally finding an ally in CIA agent Tom Lenihan (Lawtey), Tolkachev was able to shift the balance of power, proving that true patriotism lies not in blind allegiance, but in the willingness to challenge a government when it strays from its ideals. In an era when resistance and bravery are more relevant than ever, his story resonates deeply today.
BAFTA Award-winner Amma Asante (Belle, A Way of Life, A United Kingdom) is directing. Oscar-winning writer Stephen Gaghan (Traffic, Syriana) wrote the most recent draft, revising a script penned by Ben August.
Frank Smith, Benjamin Tappan, and Cher Hawrysh of Walden Media are producing alongside Goldsman and Greg Lessans of Weed Road Pictures. Jane Hooks will serve as an EP. Pioneer Stillking Films’ Ildiko Kemeny, David Minkowski, and Ferenc Szále will serve as co-producers. Hanway Films is handling international sales. CAA Media Finance is handling domestic rights. The project is currently in pre-production.
Fitzgerald starred in Miramax’s Strange Darling, for writer/director J.T. Mollner and producer Roy Lee. She also received a 2024 Critics Choice nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for her work in Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher for showrunner Mike Flanagan. She will be seen leading the cast of the upcoming Netflix series Pulse for showrunner Carlton Cuse, which will premiere on April 3. Fitzgerald is one of the latest to join the cast of the Paramount Pictures’ feature adaptation of the Colleen Hoover 2019 novel Regretting You opposite Allison Williams, Dave Franco and Mckenna Grace. The actress is repped by Paradigm, Untitled Entertainment and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein.
