Michael Mando has been fired from the Apple TV+ drama Sinking Spring after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with a costar, multiple outlets report.
The Better Call Saul alum, 41, was replaced in the new Ridley Scott drama “after getting into a physical altercation on set with a fellow cast member,” Entertainment Weekly reports. Deadline also reported that a “physical altercation” was to blame for Mando’s exit.
The Hollywood Reporter referred to the incident as a “clash with a costar” and reported that filmmakers “attempted to smooth things out, and the decision was made to let Mando go from the series and recast the role.”
Reps for Apple TV+ and Mando did not immediately respond to Us Weekly‘s request for comment.
Mando, for his part, doesn’t appear to have been active on social media since his role in Sinking Spring was announced. “So happy to be joining this wonderful group of artists! Can’t wait for you guys to see what we’re working on! XO,” he wrote via Twitter when his casting made headlines in September 2022.
Wagner Moura will take over Mando’s role as Manny Cespedes in the eight-episode drama, all of the above outlets report.
The series, based on Dennis Tafoya‘s 2009 novel Dope Thief, follows Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and a group of friends who met as delinquents in a juvenile detention center. Ray and his kind-hearted best friend, Manny, have a scam going where they pose as Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents to steal drugs. They usually target small-time dealers and face no consequences — until they accidentally uncover one of the biggest drug corridors on the East Coast. That attracts the attention of powerful dealers and real DEA agents.
In addition to Moura, 46, and Henry, 40, the cast also includes Marin Ireland, Kate Mulgrew, Amir Arison, Ving Rhames, Dustin Nguyen, Nesta Cooper, Idris Debrand, Liz Caribel and Will Pullen round out the cast. Scott is set to direct and executive produce the series via his company, Scott Free Productions. Top Gun: Maverick screenwriter Peter Craig wrote all eight episodes.
Prior to spending six seasons as Nacho Vargas on Better Call Saul, which ended in August 2022, Mando appeared on 14 episodes of BBC America’s Orphan Black as Vic Schmidt opposite Emmy Award winner Tatiana Maslany, and he played minor villain Mac Gargan in the 2017 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming. The Canada native also has his own production company, Red Barlo Productions.
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Scroll down for everything we know so far about Mando’s exit from Sinking Spring: