Aidan Gillen moves from 'Game of Thrones' to UFOs in new series

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Aidan Gillen delights in the historical scientific and entertainment connection in "Project Blue Book," an upcoming UFO drama series set (fittingly) to air on History.

Gillen, known to millions as villain Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on "Game of Thrones," plays a real historical figure, Dr. J. Allan Hynek, a college professor who investigated reports of unidentified flying objects and other unexplained phenomena in the 1950s and 1960s.

Hynek was a source and consultant for Steven Spielberg  on 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," a classic film depiction about visitors from outer space.

"I'm of the age where one of the first films I saw in the cinema was 'Close Encounters,' which, apart from making me interested in the subject, getting ultimately to play Hynek, whose books inspired Spielberg, closed the circle," he told writers Thursday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour.

In "Blue Book," Gillen's Hynek investigates unexplained phenomena in the company of Air Force Capt. Michael Quinn, a smart young officer whose goal is to close cases, not necessarily investigate them to a conclusion. He feels pressure from Gen. James Harding (Neal McDonough) to keep details from the public.

Producers acknowledged "Blue Book's" connection to another classic, "The X-Files," but said they are focused on real "Blue Book" reports, remaining true to History's goals.

That doesn't mean skimping on story, executive producer Sean Jablonski said, since the reports, many of which are unresolved, are "fascinating."

The upcoming series "leans 100 percent toward realness," Jablonski said. "The truth is, so much in the unclassified reports is fascinating, unanswered questions we get to play around with."

McDonough says UFOs and the films and TV shows about them illustrate a profound human interest in the universe and who and what is out there. "Whether they're (out) there or not, we're not fascinated by them," he said. "'Star Wars,' 'Star Trek,' 'Close Encounters," it makes great television or film."

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