We’ve been keeping you apprised of the casting news for upcoming Syfy TV series Defiance, and we now happily add Graham Greene (Northern Exposure, The Green Mile, Wolf Lake) to the list. I’ve loved him since he was a resident of Cicely, but I’m pretty sure that Defiance will be absolutely nothing like that quirky little town in Alaska. Here’s Syfy‘s press release:

OSCAR NOMINEE GRAHAM GREENE JOINS THE CAST OF SYFY’S SERIES DEFIANCE
NEW YORK – March 27, 2012 – Syfy has announced that Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves) will join the cast of its upcoming drama series Defiance. Greene will portray Rafe McCawley, a self-made success who owns and operates the largest mine in the territory. However, Rafe’s status as the richest and most powerful human in the town of Defiance comes with a price, as he struggles to navigate both familial and political alliances in this precariously assembled new world.

Greene joins previously-announced Grant Bowler (Nolan), Julie Benz (Amanda Rosewater), Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa), Tony Curran (Datak Tarr) and Jaime Murray (Stahma Tarr) in the groundbreaking series that will unite scripted television and Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOG) for the very first time. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story.

Defiance is a visionary enterprise in collaboration with Trion Worlds, with the Syfy series and Trion’s multi-platform shooter MMO poised to debut simultaneously. The pilot, slated to commence production this April in Toronto, is directed by Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest), and written/executive produced by Rockne O’Bannon (Farscape), Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica; Hellcats) & Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Defiance is produced by Universal Cable Productions.

Graham Greene’s screen debut was in 1983 in Running Brave, but it was his Academy Award-nominated role as Kicking Bird in the 1990 film Dances with Wolves that brought him stardom. This role was followed by appearances in such films as Thunderheart, Benefit of the Doubt, and Maverick as well as the TV series Northern Exposure. Greene also acted along-side Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in the 1995 film Die Hard with a Vengeance, and played a death row inmate in the Oscar-nominated The Green Mile.

In 2005, he re-emerged as the potential love interest of a pre-operative transsexual woman in Transamerica. 2007 saw Greene playing leading roles in the Stratford Festival productions of the Merchant of Venice and Of Mice and Men. Most recently, Greene has appeared in the feature films The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Casino Jack, Valley Of The Sun, Gunless, Man On The Train, Black Forrest, Chasing Shakespeare and a recurring role on the CBC TV series Being Erica.

Defiance, starring Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Graham Greene, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran,  and Jaime Murray is scheduled to begin production in April for Syfy.