Treat Williams, Bill Irwin Join HBO’s ‘Confirmation’ (Exclusive)

HBO’ Confirmation is adding to its impressive cast list once again.

Treat Williams and Bill Irwin are the latest actors to join the upcoming TV movie about Clarence Thomas‘ Supreme Court confirmation hearings, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Confirmation, from HBO Films, details the explosive 1991 Supreme Court nomination hearings (at which Anita Hill testified), which brought the country to a standstill and forever changed the way people think about sexual harassment, victims’ rights and modern-day race relations.

Williams has been cast as Ted Kennedy, who was one of Thomas’ biggest critics. He famously pressed Thomas about his unwillingness to express an opinion about Roe v. Wade during the hearings. Irwin will play John Danforth, who used his clout in Washington D.C. to boost the confirmation of Thomas, who had worked for Danforth for many years during his terms as Attorney General of Missouri and Senator.

Scandal‘s Kerry Washington stars as Hill and Treme‘s Wendell Pierce will play Thomas. The cast also includes Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet, Jennifer Hudson, Jeffrey Wright, Alison Wright andGreg Kinnear, the latter who will play Vice President Joe Biden. (And who also, coincidentally, played a Kennedy in the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys.)

Academy Award-nominated writer Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) will pen the script and executive produce the drama, which hails from Groundswell Productions in association with ABC Signature. Groundswell CEO Michael London (ABC’s upcoming soap The Astronaut Wives Club) and production president Janice Williams will executive produce alongside Grant and Washington. Dope‘s Rick Famuyiwa will direct the TV movie, which will begin production in early summer.

Williams, whose credits include Everwood and Chicago Fire, can currently be seen on American Odyssey. He is repped by APA and Lasher Group. Irwin’s credits include Interstellar, Law & Order: SVU and CSI. He is repped by Innovative Artists and Viking Entertainment.