David Krumholtz will play criminal defense attorney Harvey Silvergate in HBO’s true-crime limited series The Trial of Louise Woodward, Deadline reports. The casting follows his August decision to pause his acting career to focus on his family and mental health.
The series centers on the case of an 18-year-old British au pair accused of shaking a baby to death while caring for the child for an American host family. Catriona Chandler will play Woodward.
Krumholtz, 48, clarified in August that he hadn’t announced his retirement. He said acting’s ambitions had begun to weigh on him, writing: “I love my mountain of disappointments, I do, but I’m human and my mountain is starting to sting more than it used to. Need time to figure that out, let it heal. My mental health is vital to my family.”
In an earlier, since-deleted post, he described being “petrified” of stopping work, worried about money and how he’d cope away from acting. He said he felt immediate relief after sending the email that put his break into motion.
His credits include Bernard the Head Elf in The Santa Clause franchise, Numb3rs, 10 Things I Hate About You and Oppenheimer. His 2026 work includes Influences, Kill Me, playing Zor-El in Supergirl and an appearance on The Rookie.
Even as he announced the pause, Krumholtz said “there’s still more work to come.”