A+E Networks has announced additional casting for their upcoming Roots remake. From A&E Studios, the Roots remake is now set to include Grammy Award winner Tip “T.I.” Harris (Ant-Man, Get Hard) as Cyrus, a headstrong slave who fights for his freedom for the Union Army against Confederate Forces. Mekhi Phifer (“ER,” Divergent) will play Jerusalem, a mute slave who works on the Murray plantation, but who is not quite what he appears to be. James Purefoy (“The Following,” “Rome”) will portray John Waller, the wealthy owner of a Virginia planation, who buys Kunta Kinte as a slave upon his arrival in America. Matthew Goode (The Imitation Game, “The Good Wife”) will then play Dr. William Waller, the educated, charming brother of John Waller. Lane Garrison (“Prison Break,” Camp X-Ray) will play Frederick Murray, a volatile, unpredictable Confederate officer and slave owner. Emayatzy Corinealdi (Miles Ahead, Hand of God) will play Belle, the wife of Kunta Kinte. Finally, G. Hannelius (“Dog with a Blog,” “Surviving Suburbia”) rounds out the Roots remake cast as Missy, the daughter of John Waller.
Previously announced cast members for the Roots remake include Academy Award winners Forest Whitaker and Anna Paquin, Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy Award nominated actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose, Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Laurence Fishburne, Chad L. Colman, Erica Tazel, Derek Luke, and newcomers Malachi Kirby and Regé-Jean Page.
The Roots remake offers a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family and their will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte, who is captured in his homeland of The Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America, where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history, including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation. The story of Kunta Kinte and the women and men who came after him echoes through the history of millions of Americans of African descent, and reveals powerful truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit.
The four-night, eight-hour event Roots remake has been developed by HISTORY will simulcast on HISTORY, A&E and Lifetime.
(Photo credit: WENN)
