Monjo Does Mongo

It’s being reported that New Jersey-born actor and Esquire cover subject Peter Dinklage, who plays the clever dwarf Tyrion Lannister in HBO-TV’s Game of Thrones, is currently being courted to star in a new HBO pilot film, based on one of the late George C. Chesbro’s novels about ex-circus star turned college professor and New York private eye Dr. Robert Frederickson, aka Mongo the Magnificent.

This pilot’s script is to be written by Sydney-based Justin Monjo; the film will be produced by Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films. It’s to be adapted from Chesbro’s 1985 novel, The Beasts of Valhalla (1985). “ Monjo read [Chesbro’s] books years ago,” according to this posting, “but could not think of an actor who was right for the role of the sleuth named Mongo until he saw Dinklage in Game of Thrones. ‘It’s a grounded sci-fi series,’ says Monjo, who flies to New York next month to discuss the project with Dinklage, with whom he has corresponded. ‘HBO and Red Hour think he’s the perfect guy for the part and are very excited about the project.’ The intention would be to shoot the one-hour series in 2016 after Dinklage finishes Game of Thrones.”

(Hat tip to Paul Bishop, via Facebook.)