Exclusive: Corey Hawkins talks playing Macduff in The Tragedy of Macbeth
Now playing on Apple TV+ from A24 is the “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in Joel Coen’s bold and fierce adaptation—a tale of murder, madness, ambition, and wrathful cunning.
The cast of “The Tragedy of Macbeth” also includes Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Kathryn Hunter, Harry Melling, Moses Ingram, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ethan Hutchinson and Brendan Gleeson.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth follows a general (Washington) who’s convinced by a trio of witches that he’s destined to become the king of Scotland. With the help of his ambitious wife (McDormand), Macbeth tries to seize the crown by any means necessary.
Washington plays the title character, while three-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand co-stars as Lady Macbeth. Elsewhere, Hawkins will play Macduff with Ingram as Lady Macduff.
For Hawkins, who’s best known for his role as Dr. Dre in the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton, this is not the first time he’s tackling the Shakespeare verse. He made his Broadway debut as Tybalt in the revival of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. His other acting credits include the TV series The Walking Dead and 24: Legacy, as well as Jordan Vogt-Roberts' monster film Kong: Skull Island (2017), Spike Lee's biographical crime-comedy BlacKkKlansman (2018), Michael Bay's action-comedy 6 Underground, and Jon M. Chu's musical film In the Heights (2021). In 2017, he starred in the Broadway production Six Degrees of Separation, for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. In speaking with BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales, Hawkins talks about working with this latest Shakespeare adaptation.