National Geographic Channels Announces Academy Award-Nominated Actor Josh Brolin to Narrate Untamed Americas

HD Miniseries Event Premieres Late Spring 2012 on National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo WILD

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National Geographic Channels announced today that Academy Award-Nominated actor Josh Brolin will narrate Untamed Americas — the four-hour high-definition miniseries event that reveals the grit and glory in the wilds of North America, Central America and South America.

Premiering globally late this spring, Untamed Americas marks the first U.S. simulcast on all three National Geographic Channels: National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD and recently launched Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo.  Narrated by Brolin in the U.S. on NGC and WILD and internationally in English-speaking territories, each hour explores some of the greatest wildlife spectacles, delicate dances, instances of unbelievable endurance and against-the-odds survival in episodes dedicated to the continent's Mountains, Deserts, Coasts and Forests.

"National Geographic is an iconic brand known for its storytelling, and I am thrilled to be a part of this project," said Brolin. "This series is absolutely breathtaking, and really inspires my passion for the great outdoors."

"We could not have found a more perfect narrator for this series," added series producer Karen Bass. "Josh really brings to life what our crew captured — the intimate, the epic and the dramatic stories of wildlife facing the extreme challenges of surviving in the Americas."

The Untamed Americas team spent almost two years in the field, traveling thousands of miles from Alaska to Patagonia, to capture the extreme wildlife of the continent.  To film the rare moments, Untamed Americas cameramen and producers rappelled down Peruvian cliffs in sea lion territory incurring bruised shins and battered heads; endured jellyfish stings in Monterey, Calif.; slipped down mud paths and stumbled through dark, dense underbrush in the Ecuadorean cloud forest; faced subzero temperatures (-22F) as well as extreme heat with 100 percent humidity; maneuvered through freak out-of-season hurricanes; lost sleeping bags (and sleep!) in 80 mph winds in Chile; gasped for breath at 15,000 feet in the Altiplano of the Andes; and were even stalked by a puma. The result: stunning footage that captures previously undocumented animal behavior and the gorgeous, wild landscapes of our Untamed Americas.

Academy Award nominated actor Josh Brolin has emerged as one of Hollywood's top leading men.  This May, Brolin will star in the third installment of the Men in Black franchise opposite Will Smith.  He will also star this fall in the crime drama The Gangster Squad opposite Sean Penn.  Brolin has perhaps become most known for his riveting performances over the last several years.  In 2008, Brolin was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Dan White in Gus Van Sant's acclaimed film Milk.  Recently, he starred in the Coen Brothers' True Grit, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture; Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.  He received rave reviews for his portrayal of George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's biopic, W.   Prior to that, Brolin earned a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of an ensemble for his work in Joel and Ethan Coen's No Country for Old Men, which also won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.  Additionally, Brolin starred in Ridley Scott's blockbuster American Gangster and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of this ensemble.  Brolin made his feature film debut starring in the action-comedy classic Goonies, directed by Richard Donner for producer Steven Spielberg.  On television, Brolin made his mark as a series regular in the popular ABC series The Young Riders as well as Private Eye for NBC and Winnetka Road for CBS.  Brolin also received critical praise in the TNT's epic miniseries Into the West, opposite Beau Bridges, Gary Busey and Jessica Capshaw. In addition, Brolin starred in the title role of NBC's acclaimed political drama, Mr. Sterling.

Untamed Americas is produced by National Geographic Television for National Geographic Channels.  For National Geographic Television, series producer is Karen Bass, senior producer is Anne Tarrant and executive producer is Jonathan Halperin.  For National Geographic Channels, executive producer is Ashley Hoppin, and executive vice president of programming is Michael Cascio. 

For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.

National Geographic Channel
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks.  The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission.  Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD.  In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled.  The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in over 83 million U.S. homes.  Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in 435 million homes in 173 countries and 37 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.

SOURCE National Geographic Channel