Sony’s George Foreman Biopic Adds Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Sam Trammell, Erica Tazel, Matthew Glave & Al Sapienza
28.02.2022 - 20:35
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (One Night in Miami…, The Wire), Sam Trammell (The Fault in Our Stars, True Blood), Erica Tazel (Lovecraft Country, Queen Sugar), Matthew Glave (The Rookie, Better Things) and Al Sapienza (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Sopranos) are the latest additions to the cast of George Tillman Jr.’s untitled George Foreman biopic for Sony Pictures and AFFIRM Films.
They join an ensemble led by Khris Davis that also includes Sullivan Jones, Forest Whitaker, Jasmine Mathews, Sonja Sohn, John Magaro and Shein Mompremier, as previously announced.
Tillman Jr.’s latest will follow the remarkable life and times of Foreman (Davis), from Olympic Gold medalist to World Heavyweight champion, the Rumble in the Jungle fight with Muhammad Ali in Zaire, to finding his faith, retiring, and becoming a preacher. When financial hardship hits his family and church, he steps back in the ring and regains the championship at age 45, becoming the oldest heavyweight champion in boxing history.
Tillman Jr. and Frank Baldwin wrote the screenplay, from an original draft by Dan Gordon. Peter Guber and David Zelon are producing for Mandalay Pictures. Details with regard to the characters the newest additions to the cast will play have not been disclosed. The film is slated for release in theaters on April 7, 2023.
Gilliard Jr. is perhaps best known for his turns as Baltimore drug dealer D’Angelo Barksdale on HBO’s award-winning and critically acclaimed series The Wire, and as NYPD patrolman Chris Alston on HBO’s The Deuce. The actor has also appeared in such series as Graceland, The Walking Dead and Army Wives, and in films including Regina King’s One Night in Miami… and Brad Anderson’s The Machinist.
Trammell has appeared in series