Frank Langella, the Oscar-nominated actor, was fired from a Netflix series after being accused of sexual harassment. Langella was starring in a new limited series based on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher from The Haunting of Hill House showrunner Mike Flanagan. The 84-year-old actor allegedly made an inappropriate joke and touched a female co-star.
A production source told TMZ Tuesday there were multiple allegations of inappropriate conduct from Langella, leading to Netflix starting an investigation. Another source said Langella allegedly made an inappropriate joke of a “sexual nature.” He allegedly touched a female co-star’s leg “in the context of his performance, possibly during rehearsal,” TMZ‘s sources said. He also raised eyebrows when he jokingly said something like, “Did you like that?”
Videos by PopCulture.com
On Wednesday, sources told Deadline Langella was fired after Netflix completed the investigation. The filming is about halfway through, and Langella’s scenes will be filmed with a new actor as Roderick Usher. Langella was not scheduled to work this week, so the production in Canada will continue filming scenes without his character until a new actor is hired.
The Fall of the House of Usher is based on Poe’s story of the same name, with elements of other Poe stories brought in. Flanagan created the series and served as executive producer. Flanagan and Michael Fimognari evenly split directing the eight episodes. Intrepid Pictures’ Trevor Macy and Melinda Nishioka are executive producing with Fimognari and Emmy Grinwis. Carla Gugino, Mary McDonell, Carl Lumbly, and Mark Hamill also star.
Langella has been working in Hollywood since the mid-1960s. His breakthrough role was Count Dracula in the 1979 Dracula movie. In 2020, he played Judge Julius Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7. He was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for playing President Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon.
Flanagan is best known for his acclaimed horror movies, including Oculus, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep. His horror series for Netflix include The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and the upcoming The Midnight Club. Netflix has not set a release date for The Fall of the House of Usher.
