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UPDATE: According to Shadow & Act, Octavia Spencer has been cast and she will star along side of Taraji P. Henson in the forthcoming film, Hidden Figures.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
In her Golden Globes speech for “Best Actress In A TV Drama,” Taraji P. Henson shared that she was surprised that out of all of the other work she’s done over the past two decades—including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Karate Kid—her role as a drug dealer on Empire is what’s most lauded.
Taraji is definitely basking in her moment as one of Hollywood’s “It” girls. The actress is using her platform to add even more positive and empowering roles to her slate. Taraji has just signed on to play NASA scientist and expert mathematician Katherine Johnson in the new upcoming film, Hidden Figures.
Here are the details of the plot via Variety:
“[FOX] has been developing the adaptation of the Margot Lee Shetterly book “Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race,” published by HarperCollins.
The story centers on Johnson, a brilliant African-American mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history — the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and his safe return. The three women crossed all gender, race and professional lines while embarking on the mission.”
On Instagram Taraji confirmed her involvement in the film with the caption, “This project is so important. Honored to portray #KatherineJohnson”
According to Shadow & Act, Oprah Winfrey, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were on the short list to play the other starring roles but additional cast announcements have yet to be revealed. Production is set to begin in the next month with the film slated for a January 13, 2017 release.
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