Michael K. Williams To Play Queen Latifah’s Husband In HBO’s ‘Bessie’ FilmPosted by Wilson Morales
June 11, 2014
Source: Variety
Michael K. Williams is the latest actor to join the cast of ‘Bessie,’ HBO’s film about Bessie Smith, with Queen Latifah starring as the iconic blues singer, reports Variety.
Directed by Dee Rees, the film will be based on the life story of Smith, the project chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and ’30s, earning the nickname Empress of the Blues.
Williams joins a cast that already includes Oscar winner MoNique, Khandi Alexander, Charles S. Dutton, Tika Sumpter, and Mike Epps.
The site doesn’t state what role Williams has in the film but speculation is that he will play Bessie’s abusive husband Jack Gee, describing it as Ike Turner-esque.
Mo’Nique will play Ma Rainey, one of the first professional blues singer billed as The Mother of the Blues. Dutton will play William “Pa” Rainey, husband and partner to Ma Rainey. Alexander will play Bessie’s older sister, Viola. Epps plays Richard Morgan, bootlegger and romantic interest to Bessie Smith, while Sumpter plays Lucille, a chorus girl in Bessie’s troupe.
The pic is produced by HBO Films in association with Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere’s Flavor Unit Entertainment and Lili and the late Richard Zanuck’s the Zanuck Co., with Lili Fini Zanuck, Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, Shelby Stone and Randi Michel serving as executive producer and Richard Zanuck also getting a posthumous exec producer credit.
For Williams, it’s a return to the network that launched his career. Best known for his role as the hitman Omar on “The Wire”, Williams is also currently playing Chalky White on its gangster series “Boardwalk Empire.” Earlier this year he appeared in Sony’s “Robocop” reboot and will next appear in Focus Features’ “The Purge: Anarchy”.
