Ed Sheeran to move from nighttime jams to knight-time jams on Kurt Sutter’s new show

Musical Ambien distributor Ed Sheeran will soon be making heads roll instead of loll on FX—via The Hollywood Reporter, the singer has just been cast in Kurt Sutter’s The Bastard Executioner, a medieval drama based in part on the Welsh rebellions of the 13th and 15th centuries. Sheeran, who’s got “former altar boy” written all over his round face, will play Sir Cormac, “an ambitious and deadly protégé of a high-ranking church elder,” in a recurring role on the series.

Sheeran and Sutter have been pals for a while, having bonded over their mutual admiration for Sutter’s work. After Sheeran shared his love of Sons Of Anarchy, the showrunner asked him to contribute a song to the show’s soundtrack. So Sheeran covered Foy Vance’s “Make It Rain”, which was featured in the Gemma Teller swan-song episode.

The Bastard Executioner follows Wilkin Brattle (Lee Jones), a knight in Edward I’s army who becomes disillusioned with war. He lays down his military sword only to be asked to pick up the “bloodiest sword of all”—that of an executioner, who apparently doesn’t take enough pride in his work to keep his equipment clean. Sutter will executive produce and star in his show, of course, as The Dark Mute Mate who looks after Katey Sagal’s “beautiful mystic” character.