A funny thing happened on the way to the Aero Theater. I saw a billboard for Venus and suddenly realized that Peter O'Toole was still alive. And he's working harder than ever. According to Variety, the octogenarian has just signed on to play Pope Paul III on Showtime's popular series The Tudors.

O'Toole will appear on seven second season episodes. His Pope character will be squaring off against Jonathan Rhys Meyers' Henry VIII. Henry's stance against Pope Paul the Third was a major turning point in history, and so it will also be for the series.

Showtime's Robert Greenblatt stated, "Peter O'Toole is the Holy Grail for The Tudors. We needed someone of enormous stature to play Pope Paul III, who faced off against Henry VIII in his bid to get his divorce from Katherine of Aragon. Henry's defiance of the pope and his break with the Roman Catholic Church is one of the great turning points in the history of the world."

This will be Peter's first reoccurring character on a television series. He begins shooting his scenes sometimes in the fall for a spring airdate.

Dont't forget to also check out: The Tudors