FX’s ‘Fosse/Verdon’ Sets Main Cast; Norbert Leo Butz, Margaret Qualley Join as Series Regulars
VARIETY – FX has set the main cast for the eight-episode limited series “Fosse/Verdon,” Variety has learned.
The series is based on the biography “Fosse” written by Sam Wasson and tells the story of the romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams).
Norbert Leo Butz has been cast in the series regular role of Paddy Chayefsky, while Margaret Qually will appear in the series regular role of Ann Reinking.
In addition, the following people have been cast in recurring roles: Aya Cash as Joan Simon, Nate Corddry as Neil Simon, Susan Misner as Joan McCracken, Bianca Marroquin as Chita Rivera, Kelli Barrett as Liza Minnelli, Evan Handler as Hal Prince, Rick Holmes as Fred Weaver, Paul Reiser as Cy Feuer, Ethan Slater as Joel Grey, Byron Jennings as George Abbott, and Laura Osnes as Shirley MacLaine.
Butz is currently starring on Broadway in “My Fair Lady” and recently starred in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series “Bloodline.” He also starred in “Mercy Street” at PBS, “The Deep End” at ABC, and the mini-series “Comanche Moon” at CBS. To date he has won two Tony Awards: one for his performance as Freddy Benson in the Broadway production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and his second for his performance as Carl Hanratty in “Catch Me If You Can.” His film credits include “Better Living Through Chemistry,” “Greetings From Tim Buckley,” “Disconnect,” “The English Teacher,” “Higher Ground,” “Fair Game,” and “Dan in Real Life.”
Qualley will next appear in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie. Her performance in Margaret Betts’s “Novitiate,” opposite Melissa Leo and Julianne Nicholson, earned her rave reviews at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Additional credits include “The Nice Guys,” and HBO’s “The Leftovers.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, and George Stelzner will executive produce, with Rockwell and Williams also executive producing. Levenson, who will serve as showrunner, wrote the premiere episode which will be directed by Kail. Nicole Fosse, daughter of Fosse and Verdon, serves as co-executive producer and oversees The Verdon Fosse Legacy. Co-producer Andy Blankenbuehler is the choreographer, as is Misner. Erica Kay serves as producer.
Category: News
Margaret Joins “Fosse/Verdon”
Margaret for Evening Standard
Actress, dancer and coyote feeder: introducing indie actress Margaret Qualley
Verge List: Sundance 2017 Margaret Qualley
Where are you from?
I was born in Montana and grew up in North Carolina. They’re really outdoors-y places so I love being around trees and animals.
Are you a Sundance virgin?
Yes, this will be my first year. And I’m really excited about it.
Because of your viral Kenzo ad, everyone will be asking you to dance at Sundance. How will you respond?
I guess I’ll just break out into dance, you know? I’ve gotten a lot of awesome, positive feedback from that video. I had so much fun doing it. And Spike [Jonze] is the best.
How does it feel to be a Sundance sensation?
I don’t think I can call myself a Sundance sensation. You’re putting me on the spot.
What is the buzz about your movie, Novitiate?
It’s an unconventional love story — between my character and Jesus. In some ways it’s a coming-of-age story set in a convent. My character is enraptured; she falls in love with Jesus and kind of breaks up with Him and in the process, she becomes a woman. Also, it was such a powerful, woman-heavy set: We had a female director, a female DP and an entirely female cast. I don’t think it would have been right to do it any other way: The story is about all these women and to not have a woman in charge of it would have been a terrible injustice.
How would you describe your character?
She’s an innocent, loving, lost girl.
Do you relate to your character?
She’s probably a better person than I am. But I definitely felt some of the things that she feels: She has this overwhelming urge to be a good person. She craves love and intimacy.
How did you land this part?
I met with the director, Maggie Betts, and we just got along really well. I knew she was doing this story about nuns and at our first meeting I was like: “I’m not Christian at all and I don’t know much about this world but I would like to learn about it.” I don’t know if that’s the best way to start a conversation, but it was how our conversation started. Fortunately, she was like: “OK, let’s do it.”
Tell me about your other movie, Sidney Hall.
I have a small part in it. I only have a couple scenes and I basically just chew out Elle Fanning. I’m really mean to her. She’s a very sweet girl, so it was hard to do that.
How would you describe your character?
She’s just a mess. A New York party animal and a lost soul. The opposite of a nun.
What was your first acting experience?
I had a tiny part in Gia Coppola’s film, Palo Alto. I don’t even say anything. I was just happy to be on set hanging out because I was visiting a friend and Gia needed a girl to essentially cry to James Franco. So she was like: “Margaret, will you do that?” And so I did that and that was my first acting experience: James Franco made me cry. After that, my first real part was Jill on The Leftovers.
What was your big break?
I’ve been really lucky and I’m so wildly grateful. But I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like that. I’ll always want to continue doing things that scare me.
Did you ever have a normal job?
Other than babysitting neighbors in North Carolina I didn’t. I was a dancer and that was very much a job to me growing up — an unpaid job. But I was in the ballet studio for like six hours a day. I was going to drop out of high school and join a small company, but that’s when I moved to New York and began studying at the American Ballet Theater over the summer. I met with a modeling agency and I started to get jobs. So I guess my modeling was normal-ish. It’s not a normal job at all, though.
What have heard about the Sundance scene?
I’ve been told to wear waterproof shoes. And try to see as many movies as I can.
What will you pack?
I’m bringing my dog — I just rescued a dog with my sister His name is Books. He’s half lab and half chow chow and he’s adorable. My sister and I share him. She has to come to Sundance, too. So warm clothes, long johns, my puppy and my sister.
How will you spend your free time at the festival?
Snowboarding. I don’t do any tricks but I can go down a nice, steep hill without falling.
What is more important to you: Looking stylish or staying warm?
Staying warm. I just did this sci-fi romance type of movie with Anthony Mackie. The first two months were in France, and the last fifteen days were in Bulgaria. I was freezing. I filled up hot water bottles and put them under my costume, so the second half of the movie I look pregnant. I was like: Fuck this. It was so fucking cold. I don’t give a shit about anything. I’m wearing three-inch wool thermals under my costume and a hot water bottle on my belly. So what if it looks like I gained fifteen pounds?
What do you think about Robert Redford?
My old dog passed away but he was named Butch from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. That was a favorite of my parents when I was a little kid. I saw it when I was five — I probably saw a lot of movies that I shouldn’t have seen when I was a kid. I just love it because of my dog.
Margaret is set to star in “IO”
Margaret Qualley, Anthony Mackie & Danny Huston Lead Sci-Fi Pic ‘IO’
Margaret Qualley, Anthony Mackie and Danny Huston are set to star in IO, a sci-fi pic IO for director Jonathan Helpert. Shooting starts this week in France on the film, which follows one girl’s coming of age while examining the dangers of humanity’s current relationship with the planet. Netflix will stream the movie starting next year.
Qualley will play Sam Walden, a teenager surviving as one of the last people on an abandoned post-cataclysmic Earth, who is racing to find a cure for her poisoned home world before the last shuttle off the planet to the distant human space colony leaves her stranded. Mackie will play Micah, a complicated and mysterious refugee on his way to the imminent shuttle launch who makes Sam question whether she can really alter Earth’s fate.
Mandalay Pictures’ Jason Michael Berman and Untitled Entertainment’s Laura Rister will produce IO. The project was developed at the Sundance Institute’s Writers Lab and the Sundance Institute Catalyst Forum. Clay Jeter, Charles Spano and Will Basanta penned the original script.
Qualley is repped by UTA, Management 360 and Sloane Offer. Mackie is with UTA and Inspire Entertainment. Huston is repped by WME, Julian Belfrage Associates, Untitled Entertainment and Myman Abell. Helpert is with WME.
Margaret Joins “Sidney Hall”
Blake Jenner, Margaret Qualley and Tim Blake Nelson Join ‘Sidney Hall’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Blake Jenner, Margaret Qualley and Tim Blake Nelson have joined the cast of “Sidney Hall” starring Logan Lerman and Elle Fanning.
Kyle Chandler, Nathan Lane and Michelle Monaghan also star with Shawn Christensen directing. Christensen co-wrote the script with Jason Dolan.
Jonathan Schwartz is on board to produce through his Super Crispy Entertainment banner with Christensen and Lerman exec producing.
The story follows three stages in the life of the title character, who writes the book of his generation before disappearing without a trace. The film is currently in production in New York.
Jenner can currently be seen in Richard Linklater’s “Everybody Wants Some!!” and also has “Billy Boy” bowing this year. He is repped by CAA and Atlas Artists.
Along with starring in the final season of “The Leftovers,” bowing this year, Qualley has “The Nice Guys” bowing next month and starts filming the Netflix pic “Death Note” this summer. She is repped by UTA, Management 360 and Harris Hartman.
