Paramount Pictures are producing a Bob Marley biopic with the support of the Marley family. The studio has now confirmed the film’s lead actor.
35 year old British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir will play Bob Marley. Ben-Adir’s recruitment follows a 12 month search for the ideal candidate, according to Deadline. The film’s producers include Marley’s widow, Rita Marley, and two of the couple’s children, Ziggy (53) and Cedella Marley (54).
Filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green has signed on to direct. Green’s latest film, the Will Smith-starring King Richard, is up for Best Picture at the 2022 Academy Awards. The Marley biopic will be based on a script by Zach Baylin, Frank E. Flowers and Terence Winter. Baylin wrote King Richard.
Kingsley Ben-Adir played Malcolm X in 2020’s One Night In Miami, a film based on a real life meeting between X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke and American footballer Jim Brown. Ben-Adir had a recurring role in the TV adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity and was a main cast member in Netflix’s mystery drama, The OA.
Last year marked the 40th anniversary of Bob Marley’s death. The Jamaican reggae legend died at the age of 36 from a malignant melanoma. Marley and Rita had three children together – Ziggy, Cedella and Stephen – and Marley fathered at least a handful more, including the musicians Damian, Ky-Mani, and Julian Marley.
