A+E’s upcoming Roots remake is already loaded with A-list talent and the network recently opened their roster to one of Hip-Hop’s best actor with a one Clifford Joseph “T.I.” Harris, Jr.
A+E continues to draw big names for its upcoming Roots remake.
Rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris, Mekhi Phifer, James Purefoy, Matthew Goode, Lane Garrison, Emayatzy Corinealdi and G. Hannelius have signed on for the four-night, eight-hour miniseries event, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Harris will play Cyrus, a headstrong slave who fights for his freedom for the Union Army against Confederate forces; Phifer will portray Jerusalem, a mute slave working on the Murray plantation who is not quite what he appears to be; Purefoy is cast as John Waller, a wealthy Virginia plantation owner who buys Kunta Kinte as a slave; Goode is set as Waller’s educated, charming brother, Dr. William Waller; Garrison is on board as Frederick Murray, a volatile, unpredictable Confederate officer and slave owner; Corinealdi will play Kunta Kinte’s wife, Belle; and Hannelius will portray John Waller’s daughter, Missy.
They join previously announced Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne, Anika Noni Rose, Chad L. Coleman, Erica Tazel, Derek Luke and newcomers Malachi Kirby and Regé-Jean Page. The latter two were discovered following a global search that spanned 15 locations, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria and South Africa, where the project began shooting in late September following a stint in New Orleans.
The original 1977 miniseries based on the late Alex Haley’s 1976 novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family was a television success and raked up nine Emmy Awards.
Let’s just hope that Black Twitter doesn’t get sidetracked from T.I.’s appearance and spark a new wave of #TipTalk memes.
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Photo: Instagram/T.I.
