Vera Farmiga to star opposite Russell Crowe in Cold War thriller Billion Dollar Spy

Vera Farmiga has been added to the cast of ‘Billion Dollar Spy’.

The 51-year-old actress will be joining Russell Crowe and Harry Lawtey in the upcoming Cold War thriller for Walden Media, which is due to start filming imminently.

The movie has been adapted from author David E. Hoffman’s 2015 novel ‘The Billion Dollar Spy’, which tells the true story of Adolf Tolkachev (Crowe), a Soviet engineer who risked everything to share thousands of pages of top-secret intelligence with the United States.

Despite being repeatedly turned away by a cautious CIA, Tolkachev remained determined, driven by a deep sense of justice and the courage to oppose a regime that had betrayed its own citizens.

His efforts eventually found support through CIA officer Tom Lenihan (Lawtey), and together, they altered the balance of global power.

Farmiga is set to portray Tolkachev’s wife Natasha.

‘Billion Dollar Spy’ is to be directed by Amma Asante, who will be working from a script written by Stephen Gaghan.

Walden Media’s Frank Smith, Benjamin Tappan and Cher Hawrysh are to produce alongside Akiva Goldsman and Greg Lessans under the Weed Road Pictures banner, while Jane Hooks and Naia Cucukov serve as executive producers.

Frank Smith previously told Deadline: “Walden Media has always sought to tell stories of extraordinary courage, and ‘Billion Dollar Spy’ is no exception.

“Adolf Tolkachev’s bravery reminds us that true heroism often comes at great personal risk, and his legacy is a testament to the power of standing up for what is right, even in the face of overwhelming danger.

“We are especially thrilled to again work with the great Russell Crowe, who is no stranger to tour-de-force performances.”

Meanwhile, Akiva Goldsman said: “Greg Lessans and I are excited to partner with Walden Media, Amma Asante, and our old friend, the brilliant Russell Crowe, to tell this true story of loyalty and dedication to freedom on both sides of the Iron Curtain.”

Farmiga is best known for starring opposite Patrick Wilson in the horror franchise ‘The Conjuring’, with the pair playing paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren.

The series - which is helmed by director James Wan - has seen several sequels and spin-offs such as ‘Annabelle’ and ‘The Nun’.

‘The Conjuring’ franchise is to conclude with ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’, which is slated to hit cinemas this September, and wrapped filming last November.

At the time of the production’s completion, Wan paid tribute to Farmiga and Wilson, and described ‘Last Rites’ as the “end of an era”.

On Instagram, the filmmaker shared a photo from the movie set which included production chairs for Farmiga and Wilson with the caption: “Always good to see and hang out with old friends. Gonna miss everyone. End of an era.”

Wan explained ‘Last Rites’ would be the last entry in ‘The Conjuring’ franchise because the team was “very precious” about the IP.

The ‘Insidious’ director told Collider: “With ‘The Conjuring’ films, we are very precious about [them].

“And so we kind of want to just take our time to make sure we get it right and to make sure the emotion of the Warren stories that we want to tell, and moving into, and potentially wrapping up, we just want to make sure that it's the right thing, the right story that we're telling.”