Oliver Platt (X-Men: First Class, Fargo, Chef), Bryan Greenberg (Friends With Benefits, How To Make It In America) and Tory Kittles (True Detective, Olympus Has Fallen) have joined the cast of Bessie, HBO’s film about iconic blues singer Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah). Written and directed by Dee Rees, 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. Platt will play famed photographer and writer Carl Van Vechten, Greenberg will play renowned record producer and music critic John Hammond, and Kittles will play Bessie’s brother Clarence.
Bessie 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.
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.