OSCAR(R) WINNER MELISSA LEO AND SEBASTIAN STAN SET TO STAR IN "I'M DYING UP HERE" ON SHOWTIME(R)

Clark Duke Joins The Growing Ensemble Cast Of Young Comedians For The Pilot

NEW YORK, NY - October 16, 2015 - Academy Award(R) winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Frozen River, Louie), Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Martian) and Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Office) have joined the ensemble cast of the new one-hour SHOWTIME dark comedy pilot I'M DYING UP HERE. They join previously announced cast members Ari Graynor (For A Good Time Call), Andrew Santino (Mixology), RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Erik Griffin (Workaholics) and Stephen Guarino (Happy Endings). If the pilot is picked-up to series, Leo and Duke would appear as series regulars, Stan would guest star. Leo will play the role of "Goldie," a brassy comedy club owner who rules over her business with an iron fist and nurtures her comedians with tough love. Stan will play "Clay," a funny, charming comedian on the rise, who declares irrelevancy as his biggest fear. He is idolized by his ex and fellow comedian Cassie (Graynor). Duke will play "Larry," a ballsy young comedian from Boston who moves to L.A. with the hopes of making it big.

Produced by SHOWTIME, I'M DYING UP HERE is written and executive produced by Dave Flebotte (Masters of Sex, Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives), and executive produced by Golden Globe(R) winner Jim Carrey and Michael Aguilar (The Departed, Semi-Pro), and Christina Wayne (Copper) for Endemol Shine Studios and Assembly Entertainment. The pilot will be directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies). Set in L.A.'s celebrated, infamous stand-up comedy scene of the 1970s, during which the careers of most of our comedy superstars began, the pilot will delve into the inspired and damaged psyches that inhabit the hilarious, but complex business of making an audience laugh. I'M DYING UP HERE will shoot in LA this fall. The pilot is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by William Knoedelseder.

Melissa Leo received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award(R), as well as a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for her tour de force performance in The Fighter. She also received Oscar(R) and SAG Award nominations for her starring role in Frozen River, along with an Independent Spirit Award win for Best Female Lead, and a Spotlight Award from the National Board of Review, among countless other accolades. Leo's other notable film work includes Conviction, Hide and Seek, and 21 Grams for which she shared a Best Ensemble acting award from the Phoenix Film Critics Society. Her recent films include Prisoners, Oblivion, Flight, The Equalizer and Olympus Has Fallen. Her upcoming film projects include Oliver Stone's Snowden, portraying Oscar-winning documentarian Laura Poitras, The Fixer, The Most Hated Woman in America, London Has Fallen and The Big Short, opposite Brad Pitt and Christian Bale. On the small screen, Leo earned a Primetime Emmy(R) Award for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her hilarious and outrageous performance on Louie. Additionally, she earned a Best Supporting Actress Emmy nomination for her work in the miniseries Mildred Pierce, directed by Todd Haynes. Her other television credits include Homicide: Life on the Streets, Treme, and Wayward Pines. She can next be seen opposite Bryan Cranston in the telefilm, All The Way, portraying former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson.

Sebastian Stan currently stars in the No. 1 movie in America, Ridley Scott's The Martian. His additional film credits include Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Black Swan, Ricki and the Flash, The Apparition, Gone, Hot Tub Time Machine, The Education Of Charlie Banks, The Architect, The Covenant and Rachel Getting Married, as well as the upcoming films Captain America: Civil War and The Bronze. On television, Stan is well-known for his recurring role as "Carter Baizen" on the hit television series Gossip Girl. His additional television credits include Political Animals, Kings and Once Upon A Time, as fan-favorite, "The Mad Hatter". In 2007, Stan made his Broadway debut opposite RAY DONOVAN star Liev Schreiber in TALK RADIO. During the Roundabout Theater Company's 2013 season, Stan returned to the Broadway stage in PICNIC, directed by Sam Gold.

From a young age, Clark Duke has worked on a diverse slate of projects in television, film and new media as a writer, actor, director and producer. He is best known to audiences for his starring roles in the films Hot Tub Time Machine and Hot Tub Time Machine 2, as well series regular roles in Greek and The Office, for which he and the cast received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. His additional film credit include A.C.O.D (Adult Children of Divorce), Merry Friggin' Christmas, A Thousand Words, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2 and Sex Drive. He has also appeared as a guest star on a number of hit television comedies including Two and a Half Men, New Girl and Mom. Duke has been featured as multiple voices on the animated series Robot Chicken, and in 2013 was the voice of "Thunk" in the animated feature The Croods. He is the co-creator of the critically-acclaimed web comedy series Clark and Michael, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in alongside his friend and comedy partner, Michael Cera. Duke has also directed a number of video shorts for Funny Or Die.