EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton is boarding Studiocanal and Picture Company’s high-concept thriller Role Play starring Kaley Cuoco and David Oyelowo. Production starts in Berlin next month at Studio Babelsberg.
The Thomas Vincent directed pic revolves around a married couple whose life turns upside down when secrets come out about each other’s pasts. Cuoco and Oyelowo play the married duo. Not much is known about Thornton’s role, but sources say he will play a key figure in the film – a mysterious stranger who encounters the couple. Pic is written by Seth Owen; Andrew Baldwin also worked on the screenplay.
Studiocanal is fully backing the Picture Company production, which just landed a major Amazon Prime Video deal and sees the film being released in the US and several international territories by the streamer.
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The Picture Company partners Alex Heineman and Andrew Rona are producing through their long term deal at Studiocanal. Cuoco is producing through her Yes Norman Productions. Brillstein Grey’s George Heller, who conceived the idea, is executive producing the film.
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Thornton is a 3x Oscar nominee, winning Best Adapted Screenplay for Sling Blade, in which he also starred, back in 1997. Recently the actor starred in the flagship Amazon drama, Goliath, which was was a major hit for the streamer and he won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama series. He also starred in the critically acclaimed FX Network limited television series Fargo, for which he received Golden Globe and Broadcast Television Critics Awards for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Movie, and Emmy and SAG Award nominations in the same category. Thornton next stars in Netflix’s The Gray Man opposite Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans which drops on Netflix this summer. He’ll next star in and co-write for Taylor Sheridan’s Land Man which goes into production this fall.
Ron Halpern and Shana Eddy will oversee the film for Studiocanal and Executive Produce. Amazon Prime Video’s international and US team will oversee.
Thornton is represented by WME, Media Talent Group and Attorney Bob Myman.