Mykelti Williamson & Russell Hornsby Join Fences Movie Cast

More good news for August Wilson fans. Two new cast members have been added to the Fences movie adaptation which is being produced and directed by Denzel Washington.

Mykelti Williamson and Russell Hornsby are now part of the growing list of A-List celebrities attached to this project. Washington and Viola Davis are already signed up.

Both actors worked with Washington in the 2010 revival of Fences at the Cort Theater. Williams played “Gabriel Maxson,” while Hornsby played his “Lyons Maxson”. Washington went on to win a Tony for his role in the play that same year. It is reported that all four will reprise their roles.

Williamson is known for playing Bubba in the iconic “Forrest Gump” movie with Tom Hanks. Russell has a list of theater credits including King Headley II, Gem of the Ocean, Jitney,  as well as Intimate Apparel.

Fences won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and best Play the same year. The play is part of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle and explores black life and race relations.

Washington already struck a landmark deal with HBO to bring all of Wilson’s plays to the screen. And everyone including the folks at Broadway Black went crazy.

The most famous plays in Wilson’s cycle include: Jitney, 1979. Fences 1987. The Piano Lesson, 1990, Seven Guitars 1996, King Hedley II in 2001 and Gem of the Ocean in 2004. Wilson, who basically set the standard for African-American dramas, won several Pulitzers and Tony’s over the span of is career. he died of cancer in 2005. To learn more about Wilson and his work check out the documentary about his life The Ground On Which I Stand.