Mon Jun 3,12:54 AM ET

'Alias' Will Lean on Olin as Spy Mom

by Michael Fleming

NEW YORK (Variety) - Lena Olin will join the cast of ABC's "Alias," signing on for a guaranteed 16 episodes next season. She'll play the mother of secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) whose identity served as the cliffhanger of the finale of the drama's freshman season.

The veteran Swedish actress recently wrapped the Matthew Ryan Hoge-directed "The United States of Leland," a film that co-stars Don Cheadle, Jena Malone and Kevin Spacey.

Olin first came to notice in Hollywood for "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." She was Oscar nominated for 1989's "Enemies: A Love Story," and in 2000 starred in "Chocolat," the film directed by her husband, Lasse Hallstrom. She has been picky in choosing roles that take her away from the Gotham base of Hallstrom and their two children.

Even though "Alias" shoots in L.A., Olin jumped when asked by executive producers J.J. Abrams and Ken Olin to play a shadowy secret agent character believed to be working for the enemy of her daughter's government employers in the Disney-produced drama.

© Variety 2002

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