‘Alias Grace’ Adds Sarah Gadon in a Starring Role

Alias Grace Book by Margaret Atwood

Sarah Gadon (Indignation, 11.22.63.) has signed on to star in the miniseries Alias Grace. The six-part dramatic series comes from Halfire Entertainment, CBC, and Netflix, with actress/filmmaker Sarah Polley writing and producing. The miniseries is based on Margaret Atwood’s book and will be executive produced by Polley, Mary Harron, and Noreen Halpern. Harron (American Psycho) is also directing.

Filming on Alias Grace is expected to begin in August in Ontario.


The Plot: The story of Alias Grace follows Grace Marks, a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, in 1843. James was hanged while Grace was sentenced to life imprisonment. Grace became one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of 1840s Canada for her supposed role in the sensational double murder, and was eventually exonerated after 30 years in jail. Her conviction was controversial, and sparked much debate about whether Grace was actually involved in the murder, or merely an unwitting accessory.

Both the screen adaptation and the Margaret Atwood novel on which the miniseries is based, introduce a fictional young doctor named Simon Jordan who researches the case and begins to fall in love with Grace. He soon becomes obsessed with her as he seeks to reconcile his perception of the mild-mannered woman he sees with the savage murder of which she has been convicted.