The 'Pulp Fiction' actor and the 'Tenet' star will reprise their respective roles in the August Wilson stage play for the upcoming Netflix big-screen adaptation.
- Apr 14, 2023
AceShowbiz - Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington have allegedly been signed on for the Netflix adaptation of "The Piano Lesson". The "Pulp Fiction" star, 74, and the "Tenet" star, 38, are expected to reprise their respective roles in the August Wilson play that they originated on Broadway.
The pair will join a star-studded cast including Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, and Corey Hawkins, according to Variety.
The story is "set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor."
John David will bring Boy Willie to life, the nephew of Doaker - Samuel's role in the original 1987 run.
The movie - development of which was made public in 2021 - will be helmed by Malcolm Washington and includes an adapted script by Virgil Williams, who based it on the piece of theatre that after 27 previews and 124 performances became one of the highest-earning revivals at the time.
Production on the film features names like Oscar winner and John David's father Denzel Washington and Oscar nominee Todd Black - who also brought August's works "Fences" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" to the screen - and the serving executive producers are Constanza Romero, Jennifer Roth, and Katia Washington.
John David, who played his role on the latest run of the play on Broadway has insisted his father's opinion of his acting doesn't cross his mind when he's onstage. He said, "Am I nervous when [my father is] watching me on stage? I don't know yet. Maybe. I might not even be thinking about it because I'm thinking about the notes from my director. I don't know if I have time to be nervous about what he thinks."
