Aldis Hodge Neil Brown Jr. - H 2014
AP ImagesUniversal’s N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton is rounding out its cast, adding Aldis Hodge as MC Ren and Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella.
They’ll join O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell, who have been cast as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, respectively.
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F. Gary Gray is directing Straight Outta Compton, which is set for release on August 14, 2015. The film is produced by original N.W.A members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who are joined by fellow producers Matt Alvarez and Tomica Woods-Wright. Will Packer is executive producing with Gray and Scott Bernstein.
The story, set in the mid-’80s, traces the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A, and the five young men who used music to share stories about their upbringing and ignited a cultural war.
Executive vp production Jon Mone and director of development Sara Scott are overseeing the project for the studio.
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Hodge, who played Alec Hardison on Leverage, most recently appeared in A Good Day to Die Hard and The East. He’s been cast as a series regular on the soon-to-be seen Amazon series, The After, and has a recurring role on AMC’s Turn. He’s repped by the Priluck Company and Paradigm.
Brown played Guillermo on AMC’s hit zombie show The Walking Dead, and his film credits include Battle: Los Angeles and Fast & Furious. He’s repped by Pantheon and David Dean Management.
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