SAM NEILL ('THE TUDORS,' 'JURASSIC PARK'), SEAN BEAN ('THE LORD OF THE RINGS') AND JOSS ACKLAND ('LETHAL WEAPON 2') TO JOIN THE CAST OF NBC'S NEW FALL ADVENTURE DRAMA SERIES 'CRUSOE'

Stars to Join Philip Winchester ('Thunderbirds') and Anna Walton ('Hell Boy: the Golden Army') Previously Announced for Classic Series

BURBANK -- May 22, 2008 -- NBC announced that Sam Neill ("The Tudors," "Jurassic Park"), Sean Bean ("The Lord of the Rings") and Joss Ackland ("Lethal Weapon 2") will join the cast of NBC's new landmark series, "Crusoe" an epic and ambitious take on Daniel Defoe's legendary tale.

"Crusoe" finds the dashing and resourceful Crusoe (Philip Winchester, "Thunderbirds") after many years of being a castaway on a desert island with his companion Friday (casting to follow). Written by Stephen Gallagher ("Eleventh Hour") and directed by Duane Clark ("CSI: NY"), "Crusoe" follows the adventures of the two island dwellers while looking in flashback at Crusoe's life before he was thrown into an isolated existence filled with danger and adventure.

Among those are his tragic childhood with widower father James (Bean), the blossoming relationship with the love of his life, Susannah (Walton) and his endeavor to transform entrepreneurial aspirations into a business empire under the watchful eye of family friend, Jeremiah Blackthorn (Neill). Overcoming marauding militias, hungry cannibals, wild cats, starvation and apocalyptic lightning storms on his seemingly idyllic island, Crusoe dreams of the day he will be reunited with his beloved family.

Due to film in the United Kingdom, South Africa and the Seychelles, "Crusoe" is a distinctive, dramatic and daring story, laced with humor and plenty of high-octane action.

Neill has been acting, directing, producing and editing for over 30 years. His first feature film was "Sleeping Dogs " in 1977. He then moved to Australia and his performance in "My Brilliant Career" in 1979 was noticed by British actor James Mason who lobbied for him to get the lead role in "The Final Conflict" in 1981. Because of this, Neill moved to England where he also became famous as the title character in "Reilly: Ace of Spies" in 1983. In 1993, Neill achieved commercial and critical success with the feature films "Jurassic Park "and "The Piano. " Most recently Neill has been seen in "The Tudors."

Sean Bean is one of England's most versatile actors and has held a stellar career spanning every medium for approximately 20 years, including theater, radio, television and movies. Bean's roles have been varied and convincing such as the angst-ridden villain in "Clarissa," passionate lovers like Mellors in "Lady Chatterley's Lover," a rough-and-ready soldier in "Sharpe's Honor," a heart-wrenching warrior in "The Lord of the Rings," and noble Odysseus in "Troy."

Joss Ackland is a distinguished English actor who has appeared in over one hundred movies, scores of plays, and a plethora of television programs in his six-decade career. Ackland is best known for his role in the feature "White Mischief, the TV production of "Shadowlands" in 1985 in which he played writer C.S. Lewis, and in Lethal Weapon 2 " in 1989 as the South African heavy. On December 31, 2000, Ackland was named a Commander of the British Empire on the New Year's Honours List for his 50 years of service to the English stage, cinema and television.

Crusoe is written by Stephen Gallagher, directed by Duane Clark and executive producers are Justin Bodle for Power, Michael Prupas for Muse and Genevieve Hofmeyr for Moonilighting.

Founded in 1995, Power has produced an impressive, premium slate of feature-film quality mini series over the past six years and has been distributing television programming internationally for 12 years. Power's current slate includes XIII: The Conspiracy starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff.

Collaborating with the world's most respected broadcasters, Power's productions include the International Emmy Award-winning miniseries "Henry VIII" (ITV), the original action-packed epic disaster mini series "Flood" (ITV) starring Robert Carlyle, International Emmy-nominated "Virgin Queen" (BBC), World War II epic "Colditz" (ITV), the adaptation of Robert Harris' contemporary thriller "Archangel," starring Daniel Craig (BBC), lively drama "Casanova," starring David Tennant and Peter O'Toole (BBC), and the multiple award-winning "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant" (ITV/Network TEN).

Power's ongoing TV movie productions, 'Power Thrillers', include six newly commissioned movies for the Lifetime Channel in the US last year. The company supplies primetime drama to more than 100 broadcasters and millions of TV viewers across the world and has produced more than 125 million worth of high quality TV drama to date. Visit www.powcorp.com.