Frank Langella has been ousted from “The Fall of the House of Usher” series after Netflix determined that the 84-year-old actor committed sexual harassment on the set, TheWrap reported Wednesday, citing a production source.
Deadline confirmed the firing and said Langella’s lead role of patriarch Roderick Usher, once portrayed by Vincent Price in a 1960 movie, would be recast, even though half of the production had been completed. Langella’s scenes will be reshot, according to the entertainment site.
TMZ reported earlier this week that Netflix was investigating a misconduct accusation against Langella. He made an inappropriate sexual joke and “in the context of his performance, possibly during rehearsal, he touched the leg of a female costar, and further drew attention to the action when he jokingly said something like ‘Did you like that?’” TMZ wrote, citing unnamed sources on the set.
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The miniseries, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, includes Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Mark Hamill, Willa Fitzgerald, Mary McDonnell, Annabeth Gish and Carl Lumbly in the cast.
Langella, a four-time Tony winner, was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for playing Richard Nixon in “Frost/Nixon.” He won a Best Actor Tony for the role in the stage version.
He played the judge in 2020′s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and had a regular role on “The Americans” spy series.
Netflix declined to comment. HuffPost couldn’t immediately reach Langella’s reps.
