Although it’s still difficult to imagine someone by the name of Benedict Cumberbatch becoming a big star, he’s certainly on his way up the Hollywood ladder with roles as the villain in Star Trek 2 and now THR reports he’s joining the starry cast of August: Osage County.
John Wells is directing adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts (who’s adapted the screenplay). It’s about the dysfunctional Weston family and the daughters who have gone their separate ways, until a crisis brings them back to their Midwestern home. Meryl Streep stars as the mother, Violet Weston, with Julia Roberts and Margo Martindale playing her daughters, Barbara and Mattie Fay.
Cumberbatch is set to play Mattie Fay’s son, who is constantly belittled and tormented by his mother. He also believes that Charles Aiken (Chris Cooper) is his father, although he was actually conceived from an affair. Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney, and Juliette Lewis will also star.
Shooting will begin in late September in Oklahoma.