Actors Willem Dafoe, Jonathan Bailey and Peter Dinklage have joined the voice cast of Starburns Industries’ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” based on acclaimed author George Saunders’ New York Times bestseller and 2017 Booker Prize-winner. Saunders adapted the screenplay, with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Duke Johnson directing. It was announced earlier that Tom Hanks stars as the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, in the live action portion of the film. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent are handling sales at the upcoming TIFF: The Market.
The film employs a unique blend of stop-motion animation and live action to explore one of the most intimate moments of Lincoln’s life, centering on his relationship with his recently deceased eleven-year-old son. Blending history and imagination, the story unfolds through an unforgettable ensemble of characters – living and dead, historical and invented – to explore themes of love, empathy, and the human capacity for connection in the face of unimaginable grief.
Reverend Everly Thomas – the ghost of a minister who died believing he would go to heaven, but, to his dismay, found out otherwise – is voiced by Dafoe. Bailey is voicing Roger Bevins, the ghost of a young gay man who took his own life over a failed love affair and instantly regretted it. Dinklage is voicing Hans Vollman, a ghost obsessed with his dream of being reunited with his much-younger wife.
Four-time Academy Award nominee Dafoe’s credits include animated films “Finding Nemo,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “The Boy and the Heron,” as well as “At Eternity’s Gate,” “The Florida Project,” “Shadow of the Vampire” and seminal Vietnam movie “Platoon.” He is repped by WME, The Artists Partnership and Circle Management.
Emmy Award-nominated Bailey’s credits include “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” landmark limited series “Fellow Travelers,” and the Netflix global hit “Bridgerton.” Next he will star in the untitled John Lee Hancock film about Monsanto. He is repped by CAA, Conway van Gelder Grant, Anonymous Content and attorneys at Hansen Jacobson Teller.
Four-time Emmy Award-winning Dinklage’s credits include “Wicker,” “Roofman,” director Joe Wright’s “Cyrano” and the HBO global phenomenon “Game of Thrones.” He is repped by CAA and attorneys at Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Johnson, Paul Young and Devon Young Rabinowitz produce through Starburns Industries, alongside Hanks and Gary Goetzman producing for Playtone. Steven Shareshian, Aaron Mitchell and Saunders are executive producers.
