Two of history's most notable figures are being given the biopic treatment with Viola Davis and Wendell Pierce set to bring them to life. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the actors will portray slavery revolutionary Harriet Tubman and Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, respectively, in two HBO films.

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Davis's new project is based on Kate Clifford Larson's book Bound for the Promise Land and will specifically focus on the abolitionist's brave efforts in leading slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad leading up to the fight with the Union during the Civil War. The biopic is coming from John Adams scribe Kirk Ellis and Steven Spielberg's Amblin TV. Davis will executive produce the TV film in collaboration with Amblin TV's Justin Falvey.

Pierce will be joining Scandal star Kerry Washington in the upcoming HBO film Confirmation, detailing the tense 1991 Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings. The movie will detail the way society views sexual harassment and the workplace. The Ray Donovan star has been confirmed to play the lead male role of Thomas in the film. Washington is also set to executive produce the project.

Meanwhile, Common continues to come for Kevin Hart's "hardest working man in Hollywood" title with yet another new project. The Oscar winner, who took home the golden statuette for Best Original Song this year, will star in Barbershop 3. The news comes just days after he was announced to join the comic franchise Suicide Squad, as well as Rob Reiner's dramedy Being Charlie.

Watch the Oscar-nominated Viola Davis dish on the Nina Simone biopic and her role in The Help below:

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(Photos from Left: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Variety, Valerie Macon/Getty Images)