Jason Clarke to star opposite Helen Mirren in 'Catherine the Great'

Actor Jason Clarke has joined the cast of HBO miniseries "Catherine the Great". The four-episode series will feature Helen Mirren as the Russian Empress Catherine, reported Variety.  Clarke, 49, will play Grigory Potemkin, "a Russian military commander who became Catherine's lover, favoured statesman and life-long friend" in the show. The series will be directed by Mirren, 72, alongside Phillip Martin and it follows the end of Catherine's reign and her affair with Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.

The project is a co-production between HBO and British broadcaster Sky with Mirren, Martin, David M. Thompson and Charlie Pattinson as executive producers.  Clarke, meanwhile, will be next seen in Damien Chazelle's upcoming film First Man opposite Ryan Gosling.