British actor rounds out cat of MLK biopic…
Tim Roth (‘Grace of Monaco,’ ‘Möbius,’ ‘The Liability’) has become the latest addition to the cast of director Ava DuVernay’s Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic ‘Selma.’
Headlined by David Oyelowo (‘ Interstellar,’ ‘The Butler,’ ‘Jack Reacher’), ‘Selma’ is the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic struggle to secure voting rights for all people – a dangerous and terrifying campaign that culminated with the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and led to President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Deadline hears that Roth will play George Wallace, the Alabama governor who favoured segregation and whose bullying tactics galvanized Martin Luther King Jr and the 1965 march.
In addition to Oyelowo and Roth, the film also stars Carmen Ejogo (‘Alex Cross,’ ‘Pride and Glory’) as Andre Holland, Tom Wilkinson (‘The Grand Budapest Hotel,’ ‘Michael Clayton’) as Lyndon Baines Johnson, Andre Holland (’42,’ ‘1600 Penn’) as Andrew Young, Omar J. Dorsey (‘django Unchained,’ ‘The Blind Side’) as James Orange, Tessa Thompson (‘Heroes,’ ‘Veronica Mars’) as Diane Nash, and Colman Domingo (‘The Butler,’ ’42’) as Ralph Abernathy.
Production is underway Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. DuVernay is directing from a screenplay by Paul Webb (‘Four Nights in Knaresborough’).
Brad Pitt and Plan B partners Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner will produce through alongside Christian Colson through his Cloud Eight Films (‘127 Hours,’ ‘Slumdog Millionaire’), and Oprah Winfrey (‘The Hundred-Foot Journey,’ ‘Beloved’) through her Harpo Films. DuVernay, Paul Garnes, Cameron McCracken and Nan Morales are executive producing.