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BASED ON A TRUE STORY

About Nat Turner

Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.

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Nate Parker

Actor and humanitarian Nate Parker first received critical attention for his starring role in The Weinstein Company’s The Great Debaters opposite Denzel Washington (who also directed the film) and Forest Whitaker. Denzel hand-picked him to play the troubled yet brilliant, ‘Henry Lowe,’ who overcomes his selfish ways and becomes the team’s leader. Parker received an honorary Doctorate from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, the school on which the true story The Great Debaters was based.

Most recently, Parker starred in Beyond The Lights for Relativity opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, and Danny Glover in November 2014.

Parker most recently appeared in Jaume Collet- Serra’s action thriller, Non-Stop opposite Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore for Universal.

In 2013, Parker starred in David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints opposite Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, and Ben Foster.

Parker was the toast of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. He appeared in the Nicholas Jarecki- directed film, Arbitrage opposite Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth, which sold to Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, as well as the Spike Lee- directed Red Hook Summer.

In 2012, Parker also starred as the lead in 20th Century Fox’s Red Tails, supported by Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It told the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, who were the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps and were some of the finest pilots in World War II. George Lucas funded, produced and co-directed this feature.

He also starred opposite Alicia Keys in The Secret Life Of Bees, which featured an all-star cast of Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning and Paul Bettany. Additionally, Parker has been seen in Pride alongside Terrence Howard, Dirty opposite Cuba Gooding Jr., Felon with Stephen Dorff and Sam Shepard, and Tunnel Rats with Michael Pare. On stage, Parker appeared opposite Dustin Hoffman, Annette Bening, Rosario Dawson and James Cromwell in “American Voices” at the Broad Street Theater.

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Armie Hammer

Armie Hammer earned a 2012 SAG Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Clyde Tolson in Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic J. Edgar, with a script by Dustin Lance Black.  Hammer starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. 

His performance as the Winklevoss twins in the award-winning film The Social Network garnered him critical praise and positioned him as one of Hollywood’s breakouts of 2010. Hammer was nominated Most Promising Performer by the Chicago Film Critics Association, and awarded Best Supporting Actor by the Toronto Film Critics Association. The film received a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble, as well as a Best Picture Golden Globe.  It was also recognized by both Los Angeles and New York Film Critics, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, National Board of Review and named one of the AFI’s Top 10 Films of the Year.

Later this year, Hammer will be seen starring in Free Fire. The film is directed by Ben Wheatley and also stars Luke Evans, Brie Larson and Cillian Murphy.

Hammer recently wrapped production on Tom Ford’s film Nocturnal Animals for Focus Features. The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon.  

Last year, it was announced that Hammer will star alongside Geoffrey Rush in Stanley Tucci's film Final Portrait. Hammer will play the role of James Lord an American art critic. The script is based on Lord's own work A Giacometti Portrait.

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Mark Boone Jr.

Mark Boone Junior has had a successful acting career spanning three decades, appearing in a plethora of films across all genres.

Boone is well-known from his starring role as Robert ‘Bobby’ Munson on the hit FX series, Sons of Anarchy. He was also seen in the film Life of Crime with Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins and Isla Fisher, based on an Elmore Leonard novel. Boone has appeared in blockbuster hits such as Batman Begins opposite Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, and Gary Oldman, directed by Christopher Nolan. Nolan also directed Boone in the Sundance hit indie Memento, where Boone played the motel clerk opposite Guy Pierce. Memento, one of the early films from Summit Entertainment, went on to be nominated for two Oscars® and won four Independent Spirit Awards. He also appeared in Armageddon for Touchstone Pictures, written by J.J. Abrams and directed by Michael Bay; 2 Fast 2 Furious; The General’s Daughter for Paramount Pictures starring John Travolta and Madeline Stowe for director Simon West; and 20th Century Fox’s Die Hard II starring Bruce Willis, directed by Renny Harlin and produced by Joel Silver.

His additional film credits include Get Carter, The Thin Red Line, The Game, Seven with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, Of Mice and Men with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise and the indie Trees Lounge that he starred opposite his long time writing partner and friend Steve Buscemi. He had one of the leads in the hit horror thriller, 30 Days of Night, for Sam Raimi’s Ghost House released by Sony opposite Josh Harnett, Melissa George and Ben Foster, and also the Sundance hit independent feature Frozen River opposite Melissa Leo released by Sony Classics that was nominated for two Oscars. Boone had a starring role in the independent film Pete Small is Dead opposite Peter Dinklage, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi. In 2012, he appeared in indie films Missing Pieces, Look At Me, and Lost Angeles.

In addition to his numerous film credits, Boone has also starred in a myriad of television roles in hit shows such as Law & Order, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Carnivale.

Boone will be seen in Netflix’s series Flaked starring Will Arnett and Casual Encounters.

Boone has an avid writing and production career including an Executive Producing credit on the feature Spun starring the late Brittany Murphy. Boone haunted his musical talents with his cover of “Bang, Bang” which is based on the West Coast, and he can frequently be seen riding one of his two Harley-Davidsons around town.

Boone was last seen starring in Life of Crime alongside an all-star cast including Jennifer Aniston and Tim Robbins as well as the highly touted independent film Helicopter Mom with Nia Vardalos.

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Gabrielle Union

Gabrielle Union can be seen in the BET series Being Mary Jane, written and created by Mara Brock Akil. Union plays the lead, Mary Jane Paul, a successful talk show host. The 90-minute pilot debuted in summer of 2013 as the highest-rated show on cable for the evening pulling in 4 million viewers. Union earned rave reviews for her performance as Mary Jane and received a 2014 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special” for her role. The series airs on BET and was recently renewed for its fourth season.

Gabrielle Union will star and executive produce A Meyers Christmas, which is slated to hit theaters on November 11, 2016. The comedy will center on an estranged family who is brought together over Christmas for the first time since their mother’s passing. The film will be helmed by writer-director David E. Talbert and Will Packer will also produce.

Union recently wrapped production on Baran bo Odar’s Sleepless Night alongside Michelle Monagham, Dermot Mulroney and Jamie Foxx. The film follows an undercover police officer scouring a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son. Union will play Foxx’s wife and the mother of the missing boy.

Union recently made her production debut last year by executive producing the Lifetime movie, With This Ring, a romantic comedy based on the bestseller The Vow by Denene Millner.

Union’s additional film credits include Paramount’s Top Five, Screen Gems hits Think Like a Man and Think Like a Man Too, Lionsgate’s Good Deeds, Film Science’s In Our Nature, critically acclaimed Cadillac Records, The Perfect Holiday, Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls, Ryan Murphy's Running With Scissors, the blockbuster hit Bad Boys II, Breakin’ All the Rules, Deliver Us From Eva, Universal’s cult hit Bring It On, Welcome to Collinwood, Abandoned, Two Can Play That Game, Love & Basketball, Cradle to the Grave, Ten Things I Hate About You, The Brothers, Neo Ned, The Honeymooners, Meet Dave and She’s All That. Union was recently seen in PBS’ four hour television documentary series Half the Sky, based on the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

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Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo is an award-winning actor, playwright, and director who is a triple threat in 2016 with TV, film and theater anticipated projects.  

Domingo will reprise his role as Victor Strand on season 2 of AMC’s hit show, Fear The Walking Dead premiering on April 10. Details of the mysterious Strand may be revealed in this season’s most anticipated storyline.  

As an Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, and Drama League Award nominated and OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award winner Domingo has solidified himself as a Broadway veteran. Domingo’s newest play Dot premiered at the Humana Festival in Louisville last year and will premiere off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theater on February 23rd 2016 directed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman.

Domingo’s theater career took off when he starred in the critically-acclaimed rock musical Passing Strange. The Off-Broadway ensemble cast received an OBIE Award in 2008, and Domingo reprised his roles in the film version of Passing Strange, directed by Spike Lee, in 2009. He made his British and Australian debuts with his self-penned solo play, A Boy And His Soul. This production originated at New York City’s Vineyard Theater and won him GLAAD and Lucille Lortel awards in 2010. Domingo will once again revive, and direct, A Boy And His Soul in August of 2016 for The Guthrie Theatre.

In 2010, Domingo starred as Billy Flynn in Chicago, the longest revival on Broadway, and in the award-winning The Scottsboro Boys, a role which he originated on and off Broadway. Domingo was nominated for a Tony Award, Olivier Award, and a Fred Astaire Award for his role in The Scottsboro Boys. Additional theater credits the Off Broadway revival of Blood Knot and Wild With Happy.

As a director, Domingo recently staged the Off Broadway Alliance Award-winning production of A Band Of Angels and helmed August Wilson’s Seven Guitars for the Actors Theater of Louisville in the fall of 2015. He also directed the critically-acclaimed Off Broadway productions of Exit Cuckoo and Single Black Female.

Additional film credits include Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Steven Spielberg’s  Lincoln, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Joe Roth’s Freedomland and Clint Eastwood’s True Crime, Spike Lee’s Miracle At St. Ana and Red Hook Summer,  and the first ever screen adaptation of a Ralph Ellison story, King Of The Bingo Game, among others. His TV credits include: The Knick ,Lucifer, Law & Order, The Big Gay Sketch Show, and Nash Bridges.

Domingo is on the Board of the Directors of the Vineyard Theater in New York City. He is also on faculty at The National Theater Institute (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center) and guest-lectured and mentored in many colleges and universities around the country. Domingo directed for Berkeley Rep as well as Lincoln Center Director’s Lab.

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Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue Ellis was nominated for a NAACP Image Award and a Television Critics Award for her incredible work in BET’s epic miniseries The Book of Negroes. In The Book of Negroes, Ellis carries the entire miniseries portraying the role of Aminata Diallo, a woman who experiences and eventually overcomes the full spectrum of slavery and racism in North America, beginning with her capture in the mid-18th century as a young girl from Mali.

Currently, Ellis is starring on the hit ABC drama series Quantico, in which she stars as Miranda Shaw, the director of an FBI base who oversees the training of a new group of recruits. 

Ellis’s extensive filmography includes Tate Taylor’s The Help, in which she played Yule Mae Davis, the maid arrested for allegedly stealing a ring. In Taylor’s James Brown biopic Get On Up, Ellis portrayed Vicki Anderson, acknowledged by Brown in his autobiography as probably the best singer he ever witnessed. For her performance as Mary Ann Fisher, one of the first singers who became professionally and personally involved with Ray Charles in Ray, Ellis shared a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2009, Tony Scott directed Ellis opposite Denzel Washington’s train dispatcher in The Taking of Pelham 123. She also played the daughter of a paranoid schizophrenic (Samuel L. Jackson) in the mystery-drama The Caveman’s Valentine, directed by Kasi Lemmons and co-starred in the action comedy Undercover Brother. Early in her career, Ellis received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance as a medical student in George Tillman Jr.’s Men of Honor, with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert DeNiro. 

Ellis’s film credits also include Romeo and Juliet in Harlem (which she also executive produced), Ed’s Next Move, The Express, Freedomland, The Hungry Ghosts, Lovely & Amazing, A Map of the World, Money Matters, Notorious, The Volunteer and Una Vida: A Fable Of Music and The Mind. She made her motion picture debut in Jim McKay’s Sundance Film Festival hit Girls Town, opposite Lili Taylor. 

In addition to the previously mentioned The Book of Negroes, Ellis starred in the television movie Abducted: The Carlina White Story and garnered a second NAACP Image Award nomination for her portrayal of Candy Carson alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kimberly Elise in the made for television film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. Ellis appeared as a series regular on The Mentalist, High Incident, E-Ring, and Justice. Her television credits also include arcs on NCIS: Los Angeles, True Blood, and The Practice as well as guest starring roles on The Good Wife, Sleepy Hollow, and Blue Bloods. She first appeared on television in an episode of Dick Wolf’s police drama series New York Undercover.

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Aja Naomi King

An immensely talented and striking actress, Aja Naomi King continues to evolve with each project she takes on.

King currently stars as the ambitious student ‘Michaela Pratt’ in the hit ABC drama series How to Get Away with Murder. Produced by Shonda Rhimes and starring Emmy Award-winner Viola Davis, the show premiered in fall 2014 with a massive 14 million viewers, and was the standout new show from that television season. The show returned for Season 2 on Sept 24, 2015 and was named Television Program of the Year by the American Film Institute, and won Outstanding Drama Series at the NAACP Image Awards and GLAAD Awards. In 2015, her performance on the show earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

King made her television debut in 2012, starring in the CW series Emily Owens, M.D.. In the summer of 2014, she recurred on the ABC drama series Black Box, starring Kelly Reilly. Her other notable television guest appearances include Bojack Horseman, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Person of Interest.

King's film credits include Four, for which she won a Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Performance; 36 Saints, co-starring alongside Orange Is The New Black’s Laverne Cox; and The Rewrite, opposite Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei. She recently starred in 2015's science-fiction thriller Reversion. She made her feature film debut in Whit Stillman’s 2011 independent film Damsels in Distress opposite Greta Gerwig.

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Penelope Ann Miller

Penelope Ann Miller is a critically acclaimed actress with a diverse resume. She starred in last year’s critically acclaimed ABC drama, American Crime, from writer/director and 2014’s Academy Award winner, John Ridley (12 Years A Slave). The gritty drama follows the lives of the families affected by a tragic crime of a young couple sending shock waves into the community and stirring up racial tensions.

Miller starred in 2012’s Academy Award winning Best Picture, The Artist opposite Jean Dujardin. The Weinstein Company’s black & white silent film took the awards season by storm winning 5 Academy Awards, 7 BAFTA’s and 3 Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture among many others. Miller was also recognized for her work in the ensemble category with nominations at the SAG and Critic’s Choice Awards. She was recently honored with Career Achievement Awards at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival and the Sarasota Film Festival where they showcased her respected body of work from the past 25 years.

Miller has shared the screen with some of the most notable and renowned leading men and directors in Hollywood. This distinguished list includes Al Pacino and Sean Penn in director Brian de Palma’s Carlito’s Way for which she received a Golden Globe nomination; Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in The Freshman directed by Andrew Bergman; Robert De Niro and Robin Williams in Penny Marshall’s Awakenings; Robert Downey Jr. in Sir Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin; Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck in Norman Jewison’s Other People's Money; Matthew Broderick & Christopher Walken in Mike Nichols’ Biloxi Blues; and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop.

Other recent credits include the critically acclaimed drama Men of a Certain Age opposite Ray Romano for TNT; ABC’s Mistresses, the feature film Flipped which Rob Reiner wrote and directed for Warner Brothers and the Sony Pictures’ box office hit The Messengers opposite Kristen Stewart.

Among her many accolades, Miller received a special jury award for Best Performance at the Hollywood Film Festival Awards for her role in the independent feature Rhapsody in Bloom. She was named, Star of Tomorrow by The Motion Picture Bookers Club, Most Promising Actress by The Chicago Film Critics Association, and received a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Emily in Broadway’s Tony-winning revival of Our Town.  Miller’s television credits include Rocky Marciano opposite Jon Favreau and George C. Scott, The Last Don opposite Joe Montegna, The Mary Kay Letourneau Story for which she won critical acclaim and Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story opposite James Woods.

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Roger Guenveur Smith

Roger Guenveur Smith (born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer.

Smith has had a successful collaboration with Spike Lee on several works. He has appeared in films such as School Daze, Do the Right Thing, King of New York, Deep Cover, Panther, Malcolm X, Poetic Justice, Get On The Bus, Eve's Bayou, He Got Game, and Summer of Sam. During the 1990s, he had a recurring role on A Different World.

In addition to his performances in major studio productions, Smith continues to work in and support independent film projects. In 2003, he had a starring role in the Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney TV series K-Street on HBO. Also in 2003, Smith read in the HBO documentary, Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives; the film, based on interviews conducted by the WPA in the 1930s with formerly enslaved African Americans, is a compilation of slave narratives with actors emulating the original conversation with the interviewer. Smith was also the voice of Bao-Dur in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords. He portrayed a corrupt detective in the martial arts/crime film Fist of the Warrior, alongside Ho-Sung Pak and Sherilyn Fenn. Smith starred with Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 film Deep Cover. He also played a villain in All About the Benjamins (2002) with Ice Cube. Smith's latest major role was in the 2007 film American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, in which he played the role of "Nate", Frank Lucas's army connection in Vietnam. Smith also had a recurring role in the hit HBO series Oz.

Juan and John, written and performed by Guenveur Smith, is based on baseball's most famous fight--San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal clubbing Johnny Roseboro of the Los Angeles Dodgers with his bat during a 1965 battle for the pennant at Candlestick Park—which traumatized the playwright as a child.

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Jackie Earle Haley

Jackie Earle Haley (born Jack Earle Haley; July 14, 1961) is an American film actor. An Academy Award nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the vigilante Rorschach in Watchmen, horror icon Freddy Krueger in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Odin Quincannon in Preacher.

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Esther Scott

Esther Scott (born April 25, 1957 in Los Angeles, California is an American actress. She began her career as voice actress on Star Wars: Ewoks, before appearing on television shows include Beverly Hills, 90210, Full House, Party of Five, Ellen, The Steve Harvey Show, and Sister, Sister.

Scott was regular cast member in the short-lived ABC sitcom The Geena Davis Show (2000-2001) playing Geena Davis' housekeeper, Gladys. She also had the recurring roles on City Guys (1998-2001), short-lived The Help (2004), and Hart of Dixie (2011-2015) as Delma Warner. In film, she has appeared in Boyz n the Hood (1991), The Kid (2000), You Got Served (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Gangster Squad (2013), and The Birth of a Nation (2016).

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Dwight Henry

Dwight Henry is an American actor, baker, and businessman. He is best known for his prominent role as Wink, Hushpuppy's father, in the Academy Award-nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012). Additionally, Henry is the founder of the successful Buttermilk Drop Bakery in New Orleans, which is set to expand to other locations nationwide.

Though he had no professional training or experience as an actor, the filmmakers of Beasts of the Southern Wild cast him in the film, while allowing him to operate his bakery regularly during shooting. Henry earned positive reviews for the film, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but insists that his primary career is managing his bakery, now called the Buttermilk Drop Bakery. He agreed to open a second location of his store in Harlem in the near future.

He continued his acting career and appeared in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave (2013). He will portray Marvin Gay, Sr., the father of the late soul music icon Marvin Gaye in the biopic Sexual Healing.

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Nate Parker

Actor and humanitarian Nate Parker first received critical attention for his starring role in The Weinstein Company’s The Great Debaters opposite Denzel Washington (who also directed the film) and Forest Whitaker. Denzel hand-picked him to play the troubled yet brilliant, ‘Henry Lowe,’ who overcomes his selfish ways and becomes the team’s leader. Parker received an honorary Doctorate from Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, the school on which the true story The Great Debaters was based.

Most recently, Parker starred in Beyond The Lights for Relativity opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, and Danny Glover in November 2014.

Parker most recently appeared in Jaume Collet- Serra’s action thriller, Non-Stop opposite Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore for Universal.

In 2013, Parker starred in David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints opposite Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, and Ben Foster.

Parker was the toast of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. He appeared in the Nicholas Jarecki- directed film, Arbitrage opposite Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth, which sold to Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, as well as the Spike Lee- directed Red Hook Summer.

In 2012, Parker also starred as the lead in 20th Century Fox’s Red Tails, supported by Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It told the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, who were the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps and were some of the finest pilots in World War II. George Lucas funded, produced and co-directed this feature.

He also starred opposite Alicia Keys in The Secret Life Of Bees, which featured an all-star cast of Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning and Paul Bettany. Additionally, Parker has been seen in Pride alongside Terrence Howard, Dirty opposite Cuba Gooding Jr., Felon with Stephen Dorff and Sam Shepard, and Tunnel Rats with Michael Pare. On stage, Parker appeared opposite Dustin Hoffman, Annette Bening, Rosario Dawson and James Cromwell in “American Voices” at the Broad Street Theater.

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Armie Hammer

Armie Hammer will next be seen starring in Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation.  

Later this year, Hammer will be seen starring in Free Fire. The film is directed by Ben Wheatley and also stars Luke Evans, Brie Larson and Cillian Murphy.

Hammer recently wrapped production on Tom Ford’s film Nocturnal Animals for Focus Features. The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Michael Shannon.  

Last year, it was announced that Hammer will star alongside Geoffrey Rush in Stanley Tucci's film Final Portrait. Hammer will play the role of James Lord an American art critic. The script is based on Lord's own work A Giacometti Portrait. 

Hammer starred with Henry Cavill in the spy thriller The Man from U.N.C.L.E., playing Russian spy Illya Kuryakin and American agent Napoleon Solo, respectively.

In 2013, Hammer starred as the title character in The Lone Ranger, alongside Johnny Depp, directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

Hammer earned a 2012 SAG Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Clyde Tolson in Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar Hoover biopic J. Edgar, with a script by Dustin Lance Black.  Hammer starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. 

His performance as the Winklevoss twins in the award-winning film The Social Network garnered him critical praise and positioned him as one of Hollywood’s breakouts of 2010. Hammer was nominated Most Promising Performer by the Chicago Film Critics Association, and awarded Best Supporting Actor by the Toronto Film Critics Association. The film received a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble, as well as a Best Picture Golden Globe.  It was also recognized by both Los Angeles and New York Film Critics, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, National Board of Review and named one of the AFI’s Top 10 Films of the Year.

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Mark Boone Jr.

Mark Boone Junior has had a successful acting career spanning three decades, appearing in a plethora of films across all genres.

Boone is well-known from his starring role as Robert ‘Bobby’ Munson on the hit FX series, Sons of Anarchy. He was also seen in the film Life of Crime with Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins and Isla Fisher, based on an Elmore Leonard novel. Boone has appeared in blockbuster hits such as Batman Begins opposite Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, and Gary Oldman, directed by Christopher Nolan. Nolan also directed Boone in the Sundance hit indie Memento, where Boone played the motel clerk opposite Guy Pierce. Memento, one of the early films from Summit Entertainment, went on to be nominated for two Oscars® and won four Independent Spirit Awards. He also appeared in Armageddon for Touchstone Pictures, written by J.J. Abrams and directed by Michael Bay; 2 Fast 2 Furious; The General’s Daughter for Paramount Pictures starring John Travolta and Madeline Stowe for director Simon West; and 20th Century Fox’s Die Hard II starring Bruce Willis, directed by Renny Harlin and produced by Joel Silver.

His additional film credits include Get Carter, The Thin Red Line, The Game, Seven with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, Of Mice and Men with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise and the indie Trees Lounge that he starred opposite his long time writing partner and friend Steve Buscemi. He had one of the leads in the hit horror thriller, 30 Days of Night, for Sam Raimi’s Ghost House released by Sony opposite Josh Harnett, Melissa George and Ben Foster, and also the Sundance hit independent feature Frozen River opposite Melissa Leo released by Sony Classics that was nominated for two Oscars. Boone had a starring role in the independent film Pete Small is Dead opposite Peter Dinklage, Tim Roth and Steve Buscemi. In 2012, he appeared in indie films Missing Pieces, Look At Me, and Lost Angeles.

In addition to his numerous film credits, Boone has also starred in a myriad of television roles in hit shows such as Law & Order, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Carnivale.

Boone will be seen in Netflix’s series Flaked starring Will Arnett and Casual Encounters.

Boone has an avid writing and production career including an Executive Producing credit on the feature Spun starring the late Brittany Murphy. Boone haunted his musical talents with his cover of “Bang, Bang” which is based on the West Coast, and he can frequently be seen riding one of his two Harley-Davidsons around town.

Boone was last seen starring in Life of Crime alongside an all-star cast including Jennifer Aniston and Tim Robbins as well as the highly touted independent film Helicopter Mom with Nia Vardalos.

Boone will soon expand his online Netflix’s Flaked starring Will Arnett and the digital series Park Bench with Steve Buscemi.

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Gabrielle Union

Gabrielle Union can be seen in the BET series Being Mary Jane, written and created by Mara Brock Akil. Union plays the lead, Mary Jane Paul, a successful talk show host. The 90-minute pilot debuted in summer of 2013 as the highest-rated show on cable for the evening pulling in 4 million viewers. Union earned rave reviews for her performance as Mary Jane and received a 2014 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special” for her role. The series airs on BET and was recently renewed for its fourth season.

It was recently announced that Gabrielle Union will star and executive produce A Meyers Christmas, which is slated to hit theaters on November 11, 2016. The comedy will center on an estranged family who is brought together over Christmas for the first time since their mother’s passing. The film will be helmed by writer-director David E. Talbert and Will Packer will also produce.

Union recently wrapped production on Baran bo Odar’s Sleepless Night alongside Michelle Monagham, Dermot Mulroney and Jamie Foxx. The film follows an undercover police officer scouring a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son. Union will play Foxx’s wife and the mother of the missing boy.

Union recently made her production debut last year by executive producing the Lifetime movie, With This Ring, a romantic comedy based on the bestseller The Vow by Denene Millner.

Union’s additional film credits include Paramount’s Top Five, Screen Gems hits Think Like a Man and Think Like a Man Too, Lionsgate’s Good Deeds, Film Science’s In Our Nature, critically acclaimed Cadillac Records, The Perfect Holiday, Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls, Ryan Murphy's Running With Scissors, the blockbuster hit Bad Boys II, Breakin’ All the Rules, Deliver Us From Eva, Universal’s cult hit Bring It On, Welcome to Collinwood, Abandoned, Two Can Play That Game, Love & Basketball, Cradle to the Grave, Ten Things I Hate About You, The Brothers, Neo Ned, The Honeymooners, Meet Dave and She’s All That. Union was recently seen in PBS’ four hour television documentary series Half the Sky, based on the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

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Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo is an award-winning actor, playwright, and director who is a triple threat in 2016 with TV, film and theater anticipated projects.  

Domingo will reprise his role as Victor Strand on season 2 of AMC’s hit show, Fear The Walking Dead premiering on April 10. Details of the mysterious Strand may be revealed in this season’s most anticipated storyline.  

As an Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, and Drama League Award nominated and OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award winner Domingo has solidified himself as a Broadway veteran. Domingo’s newest play Dot premiered at the Humana Festival in Louisville last year and will premiere off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theater on February 23rd 2016 directed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman.

Domingo’s theater career took off when he starred in the critically-acclaimed rock musical Passing Strange. The Off-Broadway ensemble cast received an OBIE Award in 2008, and Domingo reprised his roles in the film version of Passing Strange, directed by Spike Lee, in 2009. He made his British and Australian debuts with his self-penned solo play, A Boy And His Soul. This production originated at New York City’s Vineyard Theater and won him GLAAD and Lucille Lortel awards in 2010. Domingo will once again revive, and direct, A Boy And His Soul in August of 2016 for The Guthrie Theatre.

In 2010, Domingo starred as Billy Flynn in Chicago, the longest revival on Broadway, and in the award-winning The Scottsboro Boys, a role which he originated on and off Broadway. Domingo was nominated for a Tony Award, Olivier Award, and a Fred Astaire Award for his role in The Scottsboro Boys. Additional theater credits the Off Broadway revival of Blood Knot and Wild With Happy.

As a director, Domingo recently staged the Off Broadway Alliance Award-winning production of A Band Of Angels and helmed August Wilson’s Seven Guitars for the Actors Theater of Louisville in the fall of 2015. He also directed the critically-acclaimed Off Broadway productions of Exit Cuckoo and Single Black Female.

Additional film credits include Ava DuVernay’s Selma and Steven Spielberg’s  Lincoln, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Joe Roth’s Freedomland and Clint Eastwood’s True Crime, Spike Lee’s Miracle At St. Ana and Red Hook Summer,  and the first ever screen adaptation of a Ralph Ellison story, King Of The Bingo Game, among others. His TV credits include: The Knick ,Lucifer, Law & Order, The Big Gay Sketch Show, and Nash Bridges.

Domingo is on the Board of the Directors of the Vineyard Theater in New York City. He is also on faculty at The National Theater Institute (Eugene O’Neill Theater Center) and guest-lectured and mentored in many colleges and universities around the country. Domingo directed for Berkeley Rep as well as Lincoln Center Director’s Lab.

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Aunjanue Ellis

Aunjanue Ellis is currently nominated for a NAACP Image Award for her incredible work in BET’s epic miniseries The Book of Negroes. Ellis was also nominated for a Television Critics Award for the same role last year. In The Book of Negroes, Ellis carries the entire miniseries portraying the role of Aminata Diallo, a woman who experiences and eventually overcomes the full spectrum of slavery and racism in North America, beginning with her capture in the mid-18th century as a young girl from Mali.

Currently, Ellis is starring on the hit ABC drama series Quantico, in which she stars as Miranda Shaw, the director of an FBI base who oversees the training of a new group of recruits. 

Ellis’s extensive filmography includes Tate Taylor’s The Help, in which she played Yule Mae Davis, the maid arrested for allegedly stealing a ring. In Taylor’s James Brown biopic Get On Up, Ellis portrayed Vicki Anderson, acknowledged by Brown in his autobiography as probably the best singer he ever witnessed. For her performance as Mary Ann Fisher, one of the first singers who became professionally and personally involved with Ray Charles in Ray, Ellis shared a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2009, Tony Scott directed Ellis opposite Denzel Washington’s train dispatcher in The Taking of Pelham 123. She also played the daughter of a paranoid schizophrenic (Samuel L. Jackson) in the mystery-drama The Caveman’s Valentine, directed by Kasi Lemmons and co-starred in the action comedy Undercover Brother. Early in her career, Ellis received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance as a medical student in George Tillman Jr.’s Men of Honor, with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Robert DeNiro. 

Ellis’s film credits also include Romeo and Juliet in Harlem (which she also executive produced), Ed’s Next Move, The Express, Freedomland, The Hungry Ghosts, Lovely & Amazing, A Map of the World, Money Matters, Notorious, The Volunteer and Una Vida: A Fable Of Music and The Mind. She made her motion picture debut in Jim McKay’s Sundance Film Festival hit Girls Town, opposite Lili Taylor. 

In addition to the previously mentioned The Book of Negroes, Ellis starred in the television movie Abducted: The Carlina White Story and garnered a second NAACP Image Award nomination for her portrayal of Candy Carson alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kimberly Elise in the made for television film Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. Ellis appeared as a series regular on The Mentalist, High Incident, E-Ring, and Justice. Her television credits also include arcs on NCIS: Los Angeles, True Blood, and The Practice as well as guest starring roles on The Good Wife, Sleepy Hollow, and Blue Bloods. She first appeared on television in an episode of Dick Wolf’s police drama series New York Undercover.

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Aja Naomi King

An immensely talented and striking actress, Aja Naomi King continues to evolve with each project she takes on.

King currently stars as the ambitious student ‘Michaela Pratt’ in the hit ABC drama series How to Get Away with Murder. Produced by Shonda Rhimes and starring Emmy Award-winner Viola Davis, the show premiered in fall 2014 with a massive 14 million viewers, and was the standout new show from that television season. The show returned for Season 2 on Sept 24, 2015 and was named Television Program of the Year by the American Film Institute, and won Outstanding Drama Series at the NAACP Image Awards and GLAAD Awards. In 2015, her performance on the show earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

King made her television debut in 2012, starring in the CW series Emily Owens, M.D.. In the summer of 2014, she recurred on the ABC drama series Black Box, starring Kelly Reilly. Her other notable television guest appearances include Bojack Horseman, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Person of Interest.

King's film credits include Four, for which she won a Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Performance; 36 Saints, co-starring alongside Orange Is The New Black’s Laverne Cox; and The Rewrite, opposite Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei. She recently starred in 2015's science-fiction thriller Reversion. She made her feature film debut in Whit Stillman’s 2011 independent film Damsels in Distress opposite Greta Gerwig.

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Penelope Ann Miller

Penelope Ann Miller is a critically acclaimed actress with a diverse resume. She starred in last year’s critically acclaimed ABC drama, American Crime, from writer/director and 2014’s Academy Award winner, John Ridley (12 Years A Slave). The gritty drama follows the lives of the families affected by a tragic crime of a young couple sending shock waves into the community and stirring up racial tensions.

Miller starred in 2012’s Academy Award winning Best Picture, The Artist opposite Jean Dujardin. The Weinstein Company’s black & white silent film took the awards season by storm winning 5 Academy Awards, 7 BAFTA’s and 3 Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture among many others. Miller was also recognized for her work in the ensemble category with nominations at the SAG and Critic’s Choice Awards. She was recently honored with Career Achievement Awards at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival and the Sarasota Film Festival where they showcased her respected body of work from the past 25 years.

Miller has shared the screen with some of the most notable and renowned leading men and directors in Hollywood. This distinguished list includes Al Pacino and Sean Penn in director Brian de Palma’s Carlito’s Way for which she received a Golden Globe nomination; Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in The Freshman directed by Andrew Bergman; Robert De Niro and Robin Williams in Penny Marshall’s Awakenings; Robert Downey Jr. in Sir Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin; Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck in Norman Jewison’s Other People's Money; Matthew Broderick & Christopher Walken in Mike Nichols’ Biloxi Blues; and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Ivan Reitman’s Kindergarten Cop.

Other recent credits include the critically acclaimed drama Men of a Certain Age opposite Ray Romano for TNT; ABC’s Mistresses, the feature film Flipped which Rob Reiner wrote and directed for Warner Brothers and the Sony Pictures’ box office hit The Messengers opposite Kristen Stewart.

Among her many accolades, Miller received a special jury award for Best Performance at the Hollywood Film Festival Awards for her role in the independent feature Rhapsody in Bloom. She was named, Star of Tomorrow by The Motion Picture Bookers Club, Most Promising Actress by The Chicago Film Critics Association, and received a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Emily in Broadway’s Tony-winning revival of Our Town.  Miller’s television credits include Rocky Marciano opposite Jon Favreau and George C. Scott, The Last Don opposite Joe Montegna, The Mary Kay Letourneau Story for which she won critical acclaim and Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story opposite James Woods.

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Roger Guenveur Smith

Roger Guenveur Smith (born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer.

Smith has had a successful collaboration with Spike Lee on several works. He has appeared in films such as School Daze, Do the Right Thing, King of New York, Deep Cover, Panther, Malcolm X, Poetic Justice, Get On The Bus, Eve's Bayou, He Got Game, and Summer of Sam. During the 1990s, he had a recurring role on A Different World.

In addition to his performances in major studio productions, Smith continues to work in and support independent film projects. In 2003, he had a starring role in the Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney TV series K-Street on HBO. Also in 2003, Smith read in the HBO documentary, Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives; the film, based on interviews conducted by the WPA in the 1930s with formerly enslaved African Americans, is a compilation of slave narratives with actors emulating the original conversation with the interviewer. Smith was also the voice of Bao-Dur in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords. He portrayed a corrupt detective in the martial arts/crime film Fist of the Warrior, alongside Ho-Sung Pak and Sherilyn Fenn. Smith starred with Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum in the 1992 film Deep Cover. He also played a villain in All About the Benjamins (2002) with Ice Cube. Smith's latest major role was in the 2007 film American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, in which he played the role of "Nate", Frank Lucas's army connection in Vietnam. Smith also had a recurring role in the hit HBO series Oz.

Juan and John, written and performed by Guenveur Smith, is based on baseball's most famous fight--San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal clubbing Johnny Roseboro of the Los Angeles Dodgers with his bat during a 1965 battle for the pennant at Candlestick Park—which traumatized the playwright as a child.

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Jackie Earle Haley

Jackie Earle Haley (born Jack Earle Haley; July 14, 1961) is an American film actor. An Academy Award nominee, he is perhaps best known for his roles as Moocher in Breaking Away, Kelly Leak in The Bad News Bears, Ronnie McGorvey in Little Children, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the vigilante Rorschach in Watchmen, horror icon Freddy Krueger in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Odin Quincannon in Preacher.

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Esther Scott

Esther Scott (born April 25, 1957 in Los Angeles, California is an American actress. She began her career as voice actress on Star Wars: Ewoks, before appearing on television shows include Beverly Hills, 90210, Full House, Party of Five, Ellen, The Steve Harvey Show, and Sister, Sister.

Scott was regular cast member in the short-lived ABC sitcom The Geena Davis Show (2000-2001) playing Geena Davis' housekeeper, Gladys. She also had the recurring roles on City Guys (1998-2001), short-lived The Help (2004), and Hart of Dixie (2011-2015) as Delma Warner. In film, she has appeared in Boyz n the Hood (1991), The Kid (2000), You Got Served (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Gangster Squad (2013), and The Birth of a Nation (2016).

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Dwight Henry

Dwight Henry is an American actor, baker, and businessman. He is best known for his prominent role as Wink, Hushpuppy's father, in the Academy Award-nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012). Additionally, Henry is the founder of the successful Buttermilk Drop Bakery in New Orleans, which is set to expand to other locations nationwide.

Though he had no professional training or experience as an actor, the filmmakers of Beasts of the Southern Wild cast him in the film, while allowing him to operate his bakery regularly during shooting. Henry earned positive reviews for the film, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but insists that his primary career is managing his bakery, now called the Buttermilk Drop Bakery. He agreed to open a second location of his store in Harlem in the near future.

He continued his acting career and appeared in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave (2013). He will portray Marvin Gay, Sr., the father of the late soul music icon Marvin Gaye in the biopic Sexual Healing.

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