Don Hany, Anthony Hayes to star in new ABC telemovie 'Devil's Dust'

The cast for a new ABC telemovie about the Australian James Hardie asbestos saga has been revealed.

Logie winner Don Hany, who is best known for his roles in Offspring and East West 101, will play a spin doctor in Devil's Dust, while The Slap's Anthony Hayes will play Bernie Banton, the worker who fought for compensation for asbestos victims.

Hayes told the Herald Sun: "It is a very important story to tell. It is something that shocked me when I read the script. I knew parts of it, but not the full extent. By 2030, there will be more deaths in Australia from asbestos than from WWI. It is horrific, it is absolutely horrific."

The actor described Banton, who died in 2007 after a battle with cancer caused by asbestos, as an inspiring figure.

"A lot of people fight for lots of causes, but to be directly affected by the very cause that you are fighting for and to fight for other people until the day you die is pretty extraordinary,'' Hayes explained.

"You know you are running out of time so you have to push harder, despite the fact you can barely get out of bed, you can barely breathe. It takes quite an exceptional person to do that.''

Two-part series Devil's Dust will also star Love my Way's Ewen Leslie as investigative journalist Matt Peacock, who wrote a book about Banton's battle.

Filming is scheduled to start in Sydney on March 19.

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