George Young lands gig in US TV series

SINGAPORE – Fly Entertainment’s George Young has been cast in Containment, a series that has been picked up by The CW. The American television network has ordered a full 13 episodes of the drama, which is based on the Belgian TV series Cordon and is about the outbreak of a deadly virus.

Written and produced by The Vampire Diaries’ Julie Plec, Containment will air in the United States in the first quarter of 2016.

“The show centers around a deadly epidemic that leaves the powers that be no choice but to enforce a quarantine over a major part of the city of Atlanta. I play Dr Victor Cannerts, a doctor and medical researcher at the CDC who makes the initial call for the quarantine, and who is now seeking to find the cause and the cure for the virus,” Young explained in an email interview.

It’s a still-surreal accomplishment for the London-born actor, who had been doing the Hollywood audition rounds since last year. “Last year was heartbreaking: It was my first experience of pilot season in Los Angeles, and I managed to get to the contract stages of a series regular role, only to be denied my chance at the final stages thanks to my visa not being ready in time. Silly red tape getting in the way of all the fun,” he said.

“So, to head back to the US this year - with the very cool sounding Alien of Extraordinary Ability visa in tow - only to land this series regular role in such an exciting show (in my second week of auditioning no less!) is so mind-warping that it still really hasn’t sunk in yet. Funnily enough, it’s the tax, housing, joining US unions, car rental etc - all the red tape stuff again basically – that has really hit home right now!”

Those are good problems to have, though. “Many of my peers remind me how fortunate I am to have popped over to Hollywood and landed such a role in so short a time,” Young said. “Even when you get through the auditioning stages and get the pilot, most of them don’t even go to another episode let alone a full series, and all this chain of events actually going through to this stage can take years and multiple pilots.”

Was it his British accent that landed him the role? “Ha! In the first rounds of auditioning, I was doing American, but by the final rounds, the powers that be thought the British accent suited the character. And thankfully, I’m quite good at British,” he quipped.

What with tying the knot earlier this year – Young married Taiwanese television presenter Janet Hsieh – and his international career taking off, things are coming together very nicely for the 35-year-old. Is it finally time to grow up?

“Never!” he joked, before adding: “You take on more responsibilities, and you try and stay focused on building your career, and little by little you grow up, I guess. I’ll let you know when I get there.”