Kris Kristofferson to Play Andrew Jackson in Miniseries

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He’s been an army helicopter pilot, a Highwayman, and Hollywood A-lister, and one of the most heralded songwriters in the history of country music. And now Kris Kristofferson will be playing a historic figure in an upcoming eight-hour miniseries on The History Channel.

Kristofferson has been cast in the role of Andrew Jackson, the 7th President of the United States, in the miniseries Texas Rising, set to chronicle the Texas Revolution against Mexico in the mid 1830’s, and the rise of the Texas Rangers—the longest-standing law enforcement agency in North America. The United States and Andrew Jackson had a very limited role in the Texas Revolution, favoring to avoid direct U.S. involvement in the conflict, but Jackson was a mentor to Texas General and eventual President of the Texas Republic, Sam Houston. Bill Paxton, a native Texan like Kristofferson, will be playing Sam Houston in the series.

“This iconic story and role really needed an American who is able to command the screen and captivate audiences,” Leslie Grief, the CEO of the production company Thinkfactory Media told The Hollywood Reporter. Thinkfactory, along with A+E Studios and ITV Studios America are handling the making of the series. Leslie Grief was also behind the successful Hatfields & McCoys‘ miniseries. “For me, Kris was an obvious choice. There aren’t too many actors that are able to embody this character and the stature, strength and liberty to play the part.”

Other notable cast members for the film include Ray Liotta, Brendan Fraser, Michael Rapaport, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Thomas Jane, Olivier Martinez, Chad Michael Murray, and Max Thieriot. Written by Leslie Greif, Darrell Fetty and Ted Mann. Texas Rising is set to premier in 2015.

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