Popular actor Jason Clarke underwent a striking transformation to portray family murderer Alex Murdaugh in Hulu’s upcoming series The Murdaugh Murders.
Gone was his familiar salt-and-pepper hair and polished appearance as Clarke, aged 55, strolled around the filming location in Atlanta, Georgia, sporting Murdaugh’s bright blonde hair and a visibly bulkier physique.
He was also seen in the character’s typical attire of khaki pants, button-up shirt, and tie while filming scenes outside a Frontera Mexican Kitchen.
In between takes, Clarke — known for his work in Terminator Genisys (2015) —sported sunglasses and slide sandals as the crew worked to set up the next shot.
Clarke’s surprise casting as Murdaugh was announced in December 2024.
It came months after Patricia Arquette has been confirmed to play Murdaugh’s late wife Margaret.
Acclaimed actor Jason Clarke looked unrecognizable as he transformed into family killer Alex Murdaugh for Hulu’s upcoming mini-series The Murdaugh Murders this week
Instead of his signature salt-and-pepper coif and sleek exterior, Clarke, 55, waltzed around the show’s Atlanta, Georgia set on Thursday rocking Murdaugh’s bright blonde hair and a noticeably bulkier build
Hulu’s The Murdaugh Murders was first announced to be development in November 2022.Â
The upcoming TV show will be based upon the true events that occurred in 2021, when the now-convicted felon, Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife Margaret and his son Paul by shooting them in the backyard of their South Carolina property.
Crime scene experts determined he ambushed his son Paul, 22, in the kennels and shot him twice before shooting his wife Maggie, 52, five times even as she fell to her knees at the family’s 1,800-acre hunting estate on June 2, 2021.Â
On July 14, 2022, Alex was indicted for two accounts of murder, and he pleaded not guilty less than a week later.
After a tumultuous trial, Alex received the guilty verdict on March 2, 2023 and the next day, he was sentenced to life in prison.Â
He was also ordered to pay $9 million in restitution for his financial crimes after taking settlement money from inflated fees or expenses for more than two dozen clients.
Even before the 2021 murders, Murdaugh had a long history of committing crimes such as fraud.
During the same year that he was convicted of killing his wife and son, he was also simultaneously sentenced to be jailed for three decades, for conning his victims out of nine million dollars, after he admitted he was guilty.
Murdaugh sobbed in court as he apologized to the innocent people who were victimized by his financial crimes.
The real-life Alex Murdaugh pictured left, Jason Clarke pictured right on Thursday
He also wore the lawyer-turned-convicted felon’s go-to kaki trousers, button-up shirt and tie combo for the day’s shoot outside a Frontera Mexican Kitchen
Clarke wore the lawyer-turned-convicted felon’s go-to kaki trousers, button-up shirt and tie combo for the day’s shoot outside a Frontera Mexican Kitchen
In between takes, Clarke — known for his work in Terminator Genisys (2015) —sported sunglasses and slide sandals as the crew worked to set up the next shot
Clarke’s surprise casting as Murdaugh was announced in December 2024
He candidly confessed to using his law firm to steal money from his clients.Â
He is currently serving 40 years for those crimes at the same time as his 27-year sentence for state fraud convictions, and will run consecutively with the disgraced lawyer’s pair of life sentences for the murders of Maggie and Paul.
He was also ordered to pay $9 million in restitution for his financial crimes after taking settlement money from inflated fees or expenses for more than two dozen clients.
The upcoming Hulu series will cover the Murdaugh’s personal family drama and the extensive reporting done by journalist Mandy Matney, who created the Murdaugh Murders Podcast.
Co-creators Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr, along with executive producer Nick Antosca, are working together to create the drama series.
Arquette was the first actor to be attached to the project as Deadline announced in September 2024 that she’d be starring alongside Clarke as Margaret Murdaugh.
EP Antosca previously worked with Arquette on the mini-series, The Act in 2019, which showcased the true crime story behind DeeDee Blanchard, played by the actress, and Gypsy Rose.Â
The TV show depicted the true story behind abusive mother DeeDee, who pretended that Gypsy had leukemia and muscular dystrophy for years, and Gypsy, who convinced her boyfriend to murder her mother.
The upcoming TV show will be based upon the true events that occurred in 2021, when the now-convicted felon, Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife Margaret and his son Paul by shooting them in the backyard of their South Carolina propertyÂ
On July 14, 2022, Alex was indicted for two accounts of murder, and he pleaded not guilty less than a week later. After a tumultuous trial, Alex received the guilty verdict on March 2, 2023 and the next day, he was sentenced to life in prison
The powerful acting role lead to Arquette winning both an Emmy and Golden Globe in the category of best supporting actress in a limited series or movie.
The new Hulu series will also be produced by the same companies that created The Act – Eat the Cat and Universal Studio Group’s UCP.
Production is expected to run through June 2025 and, according to reports, much of the series is being filmed in and around Assembly Studios in Atlanta.
Casting for The Murdaugh Murders series has mostly been kept under wraps, with only Clarke and Arquette confirmed so far.
Clarke has garnered a reputation for playing villains onscreen over the course of his decades-long acting career. He is experienced in both film and television.
The Australian star famously played Tommy Caffee in the acclaimed FX drama series Brotherhood, which ran for three seasons from 2006 to 2008.
He most recently appeared in HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which followed the ‘professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers,’ as per IMDb, and aired in 2022.
As for his film work, Clarke is best known for his work in the adventure thriller Everest (2015), the Emilia Clarke-starring Terminator Genisys (2015) and director Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning war film Zero Dark Thirty (2012).
Last year, it was announced that Patricia Arquette (left) would play Murdaugh’s late wife Margaret (right) in the upcoming limited series
Clarke has garnered a reputation for playing villains onscreen over the course of his decades-long acting career. He is experienced in both film and television; seen in 2019
He was also amongst the star-studded cast of Christopher Nolan’s multi-Oscar-winning feature Oppenheimer (2023).
Production of The Murdaugh Murders starring Clarke and Arquette comes four months after the real-life killer filed an appeal of his convictions.
In December 2024, Murdaugh and his attorneys filed a 121-page appeal document with the South Carolina Supreme Court that outlined reasons why they think his conviction should be tossed.
He and his legal team claim that his conviction should be overturned because of alleged jury tampering by Becky Hill, the former clerk of court for Colleton County.Â
His attorneys have argued that weeks after the highly publicized trial ended, they were told by jurors that Hill, who resigned from her position earlier this year, made comments to jurors to not be deceived by Murdaugh, and to ‘watch his body language.’
Last January, the claims were brought to former South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal as Murdaugh’s lawyers pushed for him to have a new trial.
They have also argued that evidence presented during his murder trial that showed Murdaugh’s involvement in major financial crimes – that saw him sentenced to an additional 40 years – should have not been presented to prosecutors.
