Quvenzhané Wallis, nominated at nine for a best actress Oscar, to star in Kevin Durant’s Apple TV+ basketball drama Swagger
She was just nine years old when she was nominated for a best actress Oscar in 2013 for Beasts Of The Southern Wild.
And seven years on, Quvenzhané Wallis has a new starring role thanks to NBA star Kevin Durant.
The 16-year-old actress has been cast in the lead of Swagger, a basketball-themed drama series Durant’s production company Thirty Five Ventures is making for Apple TV.
New role: Quvenzhané Wallis, 16, will star as a top young basketball player in Apple TV+ drama series Swagger, being produced by NBA star Kevin Durant , Deadline reported Wednesday
The Louisiana-born teen will star as a top young basketball player opposite Straight Outta Compton’s O’Shea Jackson Jr., the eldest son of actor, rapper and producer Ice Cube, Deadline.com reported on Wednesday.
The show is being written and directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood who co-created the 2017 Fox TV series Shots Fired.
Swagger is inspired by Durant’s own experiences of playing on the youth basketball circuit.
According to Deadline, the drama will center on ‘the players, their families and coaches who walk the fine line between dreams and ambition, and opportunism and corruption.’
Sports drama: Swagger is inspired by Durant’s own experiences of playing on the youth basketball circuit. The series will also star Straight Outta Compton’s O’Shea Jackson Jr., right
Quvenzhané was plucked from obscurity by filmmaker Benh Zeitlin as the lead of his debut feature Beasts Of The Southern Wild.
The precocious six-year-old mastered the role of a child prodigy and survivalist who lives with her dying father in the backwoods bayou squalor of Louisiana.
The independent movie hit the festival circuit in 2012 garnering rave reviews and awards including the prestigious Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2013, the film was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, with Zeitlin nominated for best director and best adapted screenplay and Quvenzhané for best actress, the youngest ever nominee in that category.
Since then, the actress has gone on to star opposite Jamie Foxx in the 2014 remake of the musical Annie and most recently has had a recurring role on the ABC sitcom Black-ish.
Found fame: Quvenzhané was plucked from obscurity by filmmaker Benh Zeitlin as the lead of his debut feature Beasts Of The Southern Wild. She was just six when she made the movie
Made history: The film was released in 2012 and nominated for several Oscars in 2013 including best picture. Quvenzhané, then nine, was the youngest ever best actress nominee