Regina King Joins New Film Based on James Baldwin Novel

Emmy award winner Regina King is set to star in director Barry Jenkins’ latest film, If Beale Street Could Talk, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by James Baldwin.

The story centers on a newly engaged Harlem woman who races against the clock to prove her lover’s innocence while pregnant with the couple’s first child. King will play opposite Stephan James and newcomer KiKi Layne in the film which is underway in New York, according to Deadline.

Layne, who landed the lead role, was one of more than 300 fresh faces to audition according to Jenkins, who is best known for directing 2017 Academy Award winner, Moonlight.

“We saw hundreds of young women and while many were artists with gifts we admired, KiKi Layne’s ability to showcase a rich interior life ultimately won the day. I absolutely adore working with her and cannot wait to have her join us in translating Baldwin’s vision of this heroine to the screen,” Jenkins said.

King is coming off a series run on John Ridley’s anthology, American Crime for ABC which garnered her three Emmy Award nominations and two wins.

The Ray actress is also a director, having most recently helmed upcoming episodes of NBC’s hit This is Us and Showtime’s Shameless.