For his second turn as leading man, Chadwick Boseman will again play an African American icon. The actor/playwright/director, who had a breakthrough this year playing Jackie Robinson in 42, will portray James Brown in an upcoming biopic about the music legend.
The film will be directed by Tate Taylor, who made a splash with The Help, his first directorial effort. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture and a Best Actress nod for Viola Davis, and won for Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer.
The biopic on the Godfather of Soul, produced by Brian Grazer and music icon Mick Jagger, is set to begin shooting in Tennessee next month. The story charts Brown's rise from a childhood of extreme poverty to six decades of dominance in the music world. Brown himself was part of the development process before his death in 2006.
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