Kelvin Harrison Jr. To Star In Jean-Michel Basquiat Biopic ‘Samo Lives’ From Director Julius Onah
Variety is reporting that Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Cyrano”) is set to portray American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in a new project from director Julius Onah.
Harrison and Onah previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed drama “Luce,” which nabbed best male lead and best director nominations at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Developed and financed by Endeavor Content, the biographical film, titled “Samo Lives,” will celebrate the life, career and impact of the groundbreaking New York-born, Haitian-Puerto Rican American artist whose seminal paintings and street art defined the Neo-expressionism arts movement of the 1980s.
In 1983, Basquiat became the youngest artist to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial in New York, at just 22 years old. The acclaimed artist died on August 12, 1988 at the age of 27, but his work continues to make a great impact on the art world. At a Sotheby’s auction in 2017, Basquiat’s painting “Untitled” sold for $110.5 million, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever purchased and subsequently raising the bar for an American artist at auction.
Notably, “Samo Lives” will be the first film about Basquiat to be envisioned by a Black filmmaker. The project will be financed by Endeavor Content and produced by the team behind “Luce” (Onah, John Baker, Rob Feng, and Eric Ro), with Harrison as executive producer. Filming is expected to begin this fall.
Harrison has delivered a series of celebrated film and TV performances, including writer-director Trey Edward Shults’ “Waves” and Epix’s “The Godfather of Harlem.” In 2021, the young actor won a SAG Award alongside the ensemble cast of “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
Harrison most recently starred as Christian in “Cyrano” opposite Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett. The musical film, directed by Joe Wright, is set to open in select theaters on Jan. 28, before going wide on Feb. 4. He is also set to voice a young Scar in Barry Jenkins’ “The Lion King” prequel and landed the leading role in Searchlight Pictures’ “Chevalier de Saint-Georges.”