STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Michael K. Williams May Join Whitney Houston in Sparkle

The Wire vet is also in talks with Quentin Tarrantino.

In addition to warring with the Ku Klux Klan on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, actor Michael Kenneth Williams may be acting alongside Whitney Houston. 

 

The man who plays Chalky White alongside Steve Buscemi, and originally caught Hollywood's eye with his incomparable performance as the gay stick-up kid Omar on The Wire, is in talks to join the cast of the most recent remake of the 1970s film, Sparkle

 

"I’m getting a lot of heat from this remake of an old film called Sparkle," Williams shared with Ain't It Cool News.

 

The Game executive producer Mara Brock Akil wrote the new script while her husband, Salim Akil, who cut his teeth directing episodes of The Game and Brock Akil's first hit show, Girlfriends, will serve as director. Producers include Debra Martin Chase, TD Jakes, the Akils and Curtis Wallace.

 

Sparkle, loosely based on the backstory of Diana Ross and the Supremes, follows three sisters and their struggle out of the 1950s Harlem ghetto and into the spotlight. The original Sparkle lead character was played by Irene Cara alongside actresses Lonette McKee and Mary Alice, who played her sister and mother, respectively. Actor Tony King played the evil local hoodlum, Satin, who ultimately kills McKee's character.

 

In the new version of Sparkle, Jordin Sparks will play the timid lead character and Houston will play her mother. Mike Epps will reprise Satin, but instead of a local hood, he'll play a stand-up comedian who marries one of Sparkle's sisters and hooks her on drugs.

 

Elsewhere, Williams may also be cast with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for an upcoming film. 

 

"My film plate is getting a little full. I recently booked a role in an upcoming film called Snitch with The Rock and Susan Sarandon. I am in huge discussions again with QT, as I call him, you might know him better as Quentin Tarantino. We were talking about another role for Django Unchained." 

 

(Photo: Frazer Harrison/GettyImages)

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