When Katheryn Winnick wasn't busy with her day job of kicking butt and taking names as Lagertha on History's Vikings, she found some time this past year to film another project that brings with it much hype: A big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower book series.
Winnick is playing Laurie Chambers, which might have some fans asking, "Who?", because Laurie is not a major player in the book series. But we're here to help by providing some insight into Laurie ahead of the movie's premiere.
The Chambers family
Laurie is mother to Jake (Tom Taylor), a young boy who is central to the story of Roland Deschain/The Gunslinger (Idris Elba). She is married to Elmer (Karl Thaning), but is unfaithful to him on more than one occasion (which Elmer doesn't seem to care much about).
In the books, Elmer is not a great father, more focused on his work to pay much attention to his home life, yet when he does pay attention, Elmer is always riding Jake to do better.
In a Dark Tower teaser trailer that Winnick posted to Instagram, the actress can be seen hugging Jake tightly, so perhaps the two of them are holding things down at home the best they can. Jake is certainly having his share of problems at the start of the film, as he is struggling with psychic powers and visions of the dark tower and men (and creatures) who are trying to reach it.
Laurie's strength
In an interview with Red Carpet News TV, Winnick says that people often ask her if her Dark Tower character is as strong as her Vikings character, to which she replies, "It's important to say that there's different strengths."
"You don't necessarily have to be holding an axe to show strength," says Winnick. "There's strength in your willpower, there's strength in how you deal with conflicts -- and having that ability to be able to show strength in different ways is what makes our job exciting."
The TV series
In addition to a feature film, Sony and MRC are still developing a 10- to 13-episode companion television series. While the movie will act as a sort of adaptation-slash-sequel to the novels, the TV series is adapting the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, which is framed as Roland telling Jake about his past, including when his father (Dennis Haysbert) sent him on a mission to the Barony of Mejis, a far away seaside kingdom. It was here that he met his first love, Susan Delgado, who will appear in the film, played by Alex McGregor.
Jake's mother is mentioned in Wizard and Glass, though she is actually called Megan there (which most regard to be a mistake on author King's part), so perhaps Winnick will be able to get some time off from Vikings to film a guest appearance for the Dark Tower television series as well?
The Dark Tower hits theaters Aug. 4, 2017, while the TV series is slated for sometime in 2018; Vikings has been renewed for a 20-episode Season Five, rumored to premiere in November 2017.
