Donald Sutherland to play oil magnate in Danny Boyle's TV series Trust

The Canadian actor will play John Paul Getty, an oil magnate whose grandson was kidnapped in the 1970s, in the first season of Trust, an anthology developed by filmmaker Danny Boyle. The show is expected to screen in 2018 on US TV network FX.

Money, power, dynasty, oil and mafia -- the story of the Getty family has all the ingredients of a thrilling TV drama. In 1973, when living in Italy, the clan experienced a dramatic and tragic event. John Paul Getty III, the grandson of billionaire John Paul Getty, was kidnapped by a gang linked to the ‘Ndrangheta, a mafia-type organisation in Calabria.

To free his 16-year-old grandson, John Paul Getty was asked to pay a ransom of $17 million (Rs 110 crore approx) to the kidnappers. At first, Getty refused to pay, but the grandfather changed his mind a few months later when an envelope containing a lock of the child’s hair and his severed ear was delivered to an Italian newspaper with a threat of further mutilation. After paying $3 million (Rs 19.3 crore approx), the young victim was found alive at a filling station. The effects of this dramatic event stayed with him forever.

Trust is a 10-episode anthology due to start filming from June 2017 in London. For his latest small-screen production, Danny Boyle -- who is also expected to direct the first episode -- will join forces with the producer and the screenwriter of his Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. Donald Sutherland (Hunger Games) is the first cast member to be named.

The series is due to screen in January 2018 on US cable channel FX.