‘Moonlight’ Star Andre Holland Joins Viola Davis in Steve McQueen’s Heist Thriller ‘Widows’
It’s been over three years since Steve McQueen released his last film, 12 Years a Slave, but the director of the Oscar-winning drama has a couple of projects on the horizon — including Widows, an upcoming heist thriller based on a screenplay by McQueen and acclaimed Gone Girl author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn. Viola Davis signed on to star in the film last fall, and today brings word that another awards season favorite has joined her in McQueen’s highly-anticipated new project.
Variety reports that Andre Holland, who delivered a captivating supporting performance in last year’s Moonlight, has joined Viola Davis in the cast of Widows. Davis, who recently won the Golden Globe for her outstanding role in Fences (and is heavily favored for the Oscar next month), will lead the film as one of four women who take matters into their own hands when their criminal husbands are killed during a failed heist. Cynthia Erivo, star of the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, is also set for a leading role in the film, which is based on the acclaimed BBC miniseries from 1983.
Details on Holland’s role in the film are unknown, though he’s presumably playing one of the four criminal husbands. Prior to Moonlight, Holland gave a remarkable performance as Dr. Algernon Edwards on the first two seasons of Steven Soderbergh’s Cinemax series The Knick. He also appeared last year’s sixth season of American Horror Story and recently finished filming A Wrinkle in Time for director Ava DuVernay and Disney.