British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir has been identified as the man to play the role of the iconic Bob Marley in an upcoming Paramount biopic.
According to Deadline on Friday, after a global search, Paramount finally settled on Ben-Adir to play the legendary singer. The production house reportedly took almost a year to find the right person for the role.
Ben-Adir has played many iconic roles before, including Malcolm X in One Night in Miami. The biopic will see at the helm Reinaldo Marcus Green as director. Green is best known for the film ‘King Richard’ and is known for his work on historical figures.
In the meantime, the Marley family is fully involved in the production and has Bob’s son Ziggy Marley, his wife Rita Marley, and daughter Cedella Marley joining the production team on behalf of Tuff Gong. Robert Teitel is also tapped as producer.
The late singer is prominently known for carrying Reggae Music to the world and using his music to inspire generations of people with themes of social justice, peace, and unity, and self-actualization from songs like “Get Up, Stand Up,” “One Love,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “Could You Be Loved,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “Jammin’” and “Redemption Song.”
Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at age 36, but he also lived a very interesting personal life and was rumored to be on the CIA and United States government’s radar for his musical influence over people prior to his passing.
Of the many roles of musicians in Hollywood, Bob Marley’s role is one of the more coveted parts in Hollywood since Paramount announced the biopic.
Deadline says that Paramount and Green auditioned dozens of actors who wanted to play the role, including Ben-Adir.
Ben-Adir is best known for his role in the Netflix show ‘The OA’ and his performance playing iconic figures like former United States President Barack Obama on Showtime’s The Comey Rule and as Malcolm X in One Night in Miami.
The Actor was also recently drafted to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the villain in Marvel’s Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L. Jackson.
At some point, Bob Marley son’s were also rumored to be vying for the role to play their father. Ky-Mani Marley previously called the role a dream for him to play. It’s unclear if he was considered or even auditioned for the role.
