EXCLUSIVE: Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men) and Laura Slade Wiggins (Shameless) have signed on to star alongside Landon Ashworth (Space Force) in Go On, a fantasy drama marking Ashworth’s feature directorial debut, which will enter production in New Mexico in September.
Marking Ashworth’s first produced feature screenplay, the film follows two strangers on a remote mountain, scorched by forest fires, as they help each other process baggage from their previous lives so they can transition to the afterlife. Ashworth crafted the screenplay after losing his very young cousin, Landon Bellm, to suicide.
“Having my feature film directorial debut be my own screenplay which addresses real, meaningful, and relatable issues is an honor,” Ashworth told Deadline. “Also, having the opportunity to work with Vincent is beyond a dream come true. I’ve followed his career for over a decade and knew he needed to play the co-lead of this movie. His roles after Mad Men have just solidified my opinion that he’s one of the best dramatic actors of our generation and worthy of this role.”
Continued the actor-filmmaker, “The added bonus of having Laura Slade sign on is humbling to say the least. Most directors I know didn’t have such amazing talent available for their first features. After a decade of directing TV commercials and sketch comedy I’m absolutely ready to bring this feature film to a worldwide audience.”
Best known for his critically acclaimed role as Pete Campbell on AMC’s Mad Men, Kartheiser’s most recently been seen on the DC series Titans, having also previously appeared on Casual, The Path, Saints & Strangers, Das Boot, and The OA. Notable feature credits include In Time, My Friend Dahmer and Alpha Dog, to name a few.
In addition to recurring on Showtime’s Shameless, Wiggins has appeared in such films as Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, Rings and 20th Century Women, among others.
A well-known voice in the Autism community who’s amassed over two million social media followers in the last year alone from his sketch comedy, Ashworth won multiple screenwriting festivals last year with a TV pilot surrounding the women bra-makers of the ’50s and ’60s who improbably won the contract to build NASA’s Apollo spacesuits. He’s also been developing a NASA-endorsed musical about the space race, which he’ll stage at at the Newnan Theatre in Georgia in August and hopes to take to Broadway. Ashworth is no stranger to topics about space, having earned a PhD in Astrophysics and spent three years as a test pilot for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As an actor, Ashworth has been seen in the Will Ferrell comedy Land of the Lost, as well as such series as The Resident, MacGruber, Space Force and NCIS. He is represented by Established Artists. Kartheiser is repped by Paradigm and Untitled Entertainment; Wiggins by J Pervis Talent Agency and Luber Roklin Entertainment.
If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.