Chris Sullivan Joins Jeremy Holm in Illinois-Shot Thriller Tessellation

Chris Sullivan has joined Jeremy Holm in Tessellation, a thriller that is now in production in Illinois, according to Deadline, which reported the news on 29 October 2026.

Holm plays Anton, a disgraced puzzle champion who becomes a CIA codebreaker. The role puts two very different skills under one roof: competitive puzzle solving and the work of breaking secret codes. Anton is drawn into a conspiracy connected to the death of his wife.

Stephen Louis Grush and Winter Williams are also in the cast. Cameras were set to roll this week at Flyover Film Studios in Central Illinois, so the production is shooting close to home for its crew, with the studio in the middle of the state.

The film is the feature directorial debut of Michael Moreci, a screenwriter who is also one of its producers. He shares producing credits with Robert Patrick Stern, Kevin Lau and Stephen Mastrocola, and the production is made in association with Static Films. In film credits, "in association with" usually means a company that partners on the project without leading the day-to-day producing.

Four people from Aethon Books are listed as executive producers: Damian Wassel, Jen Shelby, Rhett Bruno and Steven Beaulieu. Executive producers typically handle the business side of a film, such as money, deals and contracts, rather than what happens on set each day. That work is handled by the line producer, and on Tessellation that job belongs to Stephanie Slife. The line producer keeps the budget and the shooting schedule on track, making sure the crew has what it needs for each day of filming.

For a thriller at this stage, the next steps usually involve post-production, the editing, sound and effects work that comes after the cameras stop.

What makes a set-visit story like this useful is what it shows about the chain behind a film. A single title can bring together a writer-turned-director, a company partnering on financing, a group of executive producers and a line producer tracking every shooting day, all before the cast takes a bow. Tessellation is at the stage where those decisions are being carried out in front of the cameras in Illinois.