VOLPI CUP WINNER AND EMMY (R) & GOLDEN GLOBE (R) NOMINEE PETER SARSGAARD JOINS SCOTTISH HIGHLAND DRAMA "LAIRD" FOR PARAMOUNT+

From Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Georgia Lee, Laird is Produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios

Photo Credit: Maria Maratti/Peter Sarsgaard

· Volpi Cup Winner and Emmy(R)& Golden Globe(R) nominee Peter Sarsgaard (Memory, Boys Don't Cry), will star alongside Oscar(R), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R)-winning actor, writer and director Kenneth Branagh (Mayday,Oppenheimer) who also serves as executive producer, in the upcoming Paramount+ Scottish Highland drama, Laird.

· Sarsgaard will star as "Peter Bergstrom," a ruthless, self-made tech titan and land magnate whose influence spans continents. He is not simply building wealth, but power - shaping land, industry, and people as extensions of his ambition.

· Set in the modern Scottish Highlands, Laird is an epic family saga in which a proud Scot defies a shadowy American billionaire (Peter Sarsgaard) hellbent on buying up the glens. Amidst family feuds, buried secrets and star-crossed romances, the Laird of Castle Drummoch (Kenneth Branagh) remains determined to protect his ancestral lands from oligarchical land grabbing.

· Created by Jez Butterworth (MobLand, The Agency), John-Henry Butterworth (Nine Perfect Strangers, The Agency) and Georgia Lee (Destination, Mudtown) Laird is produced by Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios. Branagh will executive produce alongside David C. Glasser, Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth, Joe Wright, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin, Bob Yari, Charles Finch, and Keith Cox. Two-time BAFTA(R)-winning filmmaker Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Darkest Hour, Cyrano) is attached to direct the pilot.

· The series will premiere globally exclusively on Paramount+.

· PETER SARSGAARD Bio: Peter Sarsgaard is an Emmy(R) Award-nominated actor who was mostly recently seen in The Bride!, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, alongside Christan Bale, Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, and Penelope Cruz. His extensive film credits include Boys Don't Cry, The Lost Daughter, The Batman, September 5, Jackie, Memory, Blue Jasmine, An Education, Kinsey, Jarhead, and Shattered Glass, which earned him a Golden Globe(R) nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

On television, Sarsgaard starred in Dopesick, created by Danny Strong and directed by Barry Levinson, and Presumed Innocent created by David E. Kelley, both of which earned him an Emmy(R) Award nomination. He was recently seen in DTF St. Louis, opposite David Harbour, Jason Bateman, and Linda Cardellini.

Sarsgaard began his career on stage, in the Off-Broadway production of Laura Dennis, and made his Broadway debut in 2008's The Seagull. Additional productions include Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and Hamlet. He will soon be seen on television opposite Callum Turner in Neuromancer, and on film in Erosion, Zero K, and Road House 2.

· Rep Info: Peter Sarsgaard is repped by WME, ID PR, and Peikoff/Mahan.