Actor Freida Pinto is the latest star to join the cast of filmmaker Ron Howard’s next directorial venture Hillbilly Elegy . The project, which hails from Netflix stable, is based on the bestselling memoir of the same name by author JD Vance.
Pinto, who most recently featured in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, joins Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Haley Bennett and Gabriel Basso in the project.
According to Variety, actors Bo Hopkins and Owen Asztalos have also boarded the cast. The film’s story, described as a modern exploration of the American Dream, follows three generations of an Appalachian family as told by its youngest member, a Yale Law student forced to return to his hometown.
Netflix Casts Freida Pinto In Ron Howard’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ #Netflix pic.twitter.com/uuOsiknBqd
— Netflix Updates (@Netflix_Updates) June 15, 2019
Howard, best known for films such as A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code and Rush, will direct the film from a script by Vanessa Taylor.
The director will also produce the project alongside Brian Grazer and Karen Lunder, while Vance and Julie Oh will executive produce.
On the work front, the Slumdog Millionaire actor is lending her voice for the upcoming Disney show Mira, Royal Detective. Other than Freida, the movie also stars Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Haley Bennett, and Gabriel Basso.
(With inputs from agencies)