Nearly three months after John Wesley Shipp was cast in a mysterious role in The Flash pilot, The CW has confirmed that the actor is portraying Henry Allen, the father of Grant Gustin's Barry Allen. John Wesley Shipp played the original TV version of The Flash in the series that ran for just one season in 1990.

Here's what executive producer Greg Berlanti had to say about John Wesley Shipp's character in this new version of The Flash.

"Given his history with The Flash, (executive producers) Andrew (Kreisberg), Geoff (Johns) and I could only think of one person we wanted to play Barry's father and that was John Wesley Shipp. He gives a fantastic and emotional performance in the pilot and we are looking forward to his presence in many more episodes. Also, personally, it was just wonderful to work with him again since my days at Dawson's Creek. He's a great actor and a great guy."

Grant Gustin's Barry Allen was first introduced in a Season 2 episode of Arrow, where he revealed that his father is still in prison for the murder of his mother, who we reported in February will be played by Michelle Harrison in The Flash. Barry maintains that his father was innocent, claiming that his mother was killed by a "tornado" with a man inside.

Aside from playing the original Flash, John Wesley Shipp also played Mitch Leery in Dawson's Creek, and he most recently had an arc on MTV's Teen Wolf.