With the addition of Brad Pitt, I thougt Steve McQueens Twelve Years A Slave had reached its high point in terms of casting. Even without him, the cast was pretty solid: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Red Belt, Children of Men) plays the titular role of Solomon Northup, a free black man who gets tricked into slavery in the mid-1800s. Michael Fassbender plays a plantation owner, continuing the bromance between the actor and director of Hunger and Shame.
Now, according to Variety, Paul Giamatti has joined the cast as well. Hell play a character named Freeman, a man who takes control of slaves once they reach New Orleans. Expect to see quite a bit of Giamatti’s sleazier side!
But the Sideways-star is not the only addition: Deadline reports that Garret Dillahunt
(Winters Bone, Raising Hope) will also grace the film with his solid presence, as a fellow field hand working alongside Northup at one point in the film.
Last but not least, Sarah Paulson (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Game Change) will also star as the jealous wife of Michael Fassbenders character, a plantation owner who is presumably sympathetic to Northup.
These three join an eclectic cast already consisting of Benedict Cumberbatch (Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Scoot McNairy (Monsters and the upcoming Killing Them Softly
).Leave some for the others, will ya, McQueen!
