Casting News - November 25, 2019
AppleTV+'s Lisey's Story; BET's American Soul; and CBS' Tommy.
APPLE TV+'s LISEY'S STORY
- Dane Dehaan has been cast as a series regular on the upcoming limited series starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen. His film credits include starring roles in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
- He will play Jim Dooley, a huge fan of Scott's (Owen) books who feels strongly about his unpublished work being released to the world.
CBS' TOMMY
- Katrina Lenk has booked a recurring role on the upcoming drama starring Edie Falco. She won Tony, Grammy and Daytime Emmy Awards for the musical The Band's Visit.
- She will play Kiley Mills, a whip-smart and bracingly honest sports agent who knows first-hand the challenges of a woman competing and succeeding in a male-dominated field.
BET's AMERICAN SOUL
- Darius McCrary, Alex Ball, Hudson Thames, Tone Bell, Demetria McKinney, London Brown, D.C. Young Fly, Big Boi, Ledisi, Melanie Fiona, Yung Joc, Christopher B. Duncan and Kearran Giovanni have landed recurring roles on the drama's upcoming second season.
- McCrary (Family Matters) will play James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, who makes an appearance on Soul Train with his band.
- Ball (NCIS) will play Dick Clark, the host of American Bandstand. He and Don (Sinqua Walls) are basically in the same business - only Dick has already been in the game for 15 years. He makes nice when he runs into Don on the Soul Train lot, but he's ready to lash out and let Don know who the top dog in the conversation is.
- Thames (Malibu Country) will play Elton John, a young British rock star in Los Angeles at the infamous Chateau Marmont eager to meet Don. When Don gets to the hotel, Elton begs to be on Soul Train and asks for an audition.
- Bell (Fam) will play Richard Pryor, a smart, quick, outrageous, crude and brilliant comedian who's famous for his irreverent acts that are peppered with extremely bad words. He is a guest host of Soul Train where he knows he has to watch his language and behavior. Behind the scenes, however, he doesn't.
- McKinney (House of Payne) will play June Pointer, the hot-headed, troubling making member of the legendary Pointer Sisters.
- Brown (Ballers) will play Bootsy Collins, a vibrantly attired, colorful character who is a famous member of George Clinton's band, Parliament-Funkadelic. He used to work with James Brown and cracks jokes at his expense when Brown shows up at Clinton's rehearsal in a huff.
- D.C. Young Fly (Grown-ish) will play Sly Stone, the very eclectic, but often troubled front man of Sly and the Family Stone. He strolls into Soul Train to meet Don with his band, which includes a black llama. He also has a reputation of leaving before he does his show.
- Big Boi (Scream) will play George Clinton, who, wearing a fur vest and star-shaped shades, appears in a purple haze at a recording studio to rehearse with Parliament-Funkadelic and two of James Brown's band members.
- Ledisi (Selma) will play Patti LaBelle, who performs on Soul Train with the band playing to a music track while Patti sings live. She gets into a little riff with Tessa (Iantha Richardson) over her drummer's attitude.
- Fiona (The Bronze) will play Chaka Khan, the talented and charismatic lead singer of the funk band Rufus and appears with them on Soul Train singing "Once You Get Started."
- Joc (Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta) will play Gary Shider, a guitarist with Parliament-Funkadelic who is famous for wearing an "adult diaper" in his performances. When he offers to give the furious James Brown a shiatsu massage to calm down, Brown almost explodes.
- Duncan (Veronica Mars) will play Ray Bradley, a kind, down-to-earth man who has adopted JT's (Christopher Jefferson) little sister Aiya after she ended up in the system.
- Giovanni (Major Crimes) will play Ruby Daniels, a beautiful femme fatale with ties to the mob. She's a deadly acquaintance of Gerald Aims (Jason Dirden) and has come to town to fill the void left by another mobster's death. Though Don comes to know Ruby as a savior to his beloved Soul Train, Gerald knows her true intentions and fears she will surely thwart his efforts in becoming a legit businessman.
