Don Cheadle to play Miles Davis in biopic
Don Cheadle will play Miles Davis in "Kill the Trumpet Player," a biopic the actor has long planned on the innovative jazz pioneer.
BiFrost Pictures told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it will finance and produce the film, with Cheadle also making his directorial debut. Cheadle has been trying to make the film for years. Production is finally set to begin in June.
The production company said the movie will focus on when Davis temporarily retired from making music and then re-emerged in 1979. The script is written by Cheadle and Steven Baigelman.Ewan McGregor will co-star as a Rolling Stone reporter, and Zoe Saldana will play Frances Davis, the trumpet player's former wife. Davis collaborator Herbie Hancock will be involved in the production.
Cheadle, 48, currently stars on Showtime's series "House of Lies." His other acting credits include "Iron Man 3," "Flight," "Ocean's Eleven" and "Hotel Rwanda."
Davis died in 1991 at age 65.