Amandla Stenberg to star in Damien Chazelle’s musical series The Eddy
US actress Amandla Stenberg arrives for the 91st Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 24, 2019. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty)
Amandla Stenberg will feature in The Eddy, a new Netflix musical drama series by Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle.
Netflix describes the series as focusing on “a jazz club in the heart of multicultural Paris facing danger.”
Moonlight actor André Holland plays the lead role of Elliot Udo, the club’s manager while Stenberg will play opposite Holland as his character’s daughter, Julie.
“Amandla Stenberg will star in #TheEddy, Damien Chazelle’s eight-part musical drama as Julie, the daughter of Elliott (Andre Holland) who suddenly shows up in Paris and forces him to face his past,” Netflix described in a tweet from its See What’s Next account on Monday (May 6).
There is no release date as yet for the eight-part musical mini series, but it is expected to air globally in 2020, according to Deadline.
The publication reports that production will begin in the spring in France and that the show will feature dialogue in French, English and Arabic.
Stenberg, who uses they/them pronouns and came out as gay in June 2018, became known for playing Rue in The Hunger Games film franchise and has since become an outspoken LGBT+ rights campaigner.
Amandla Stenberg is a LGBT+ rights campaigner
LGBT+ rights group Human Rights Campaign awarded the actor the Visibility Award in February,
“It can definitely be strange to be vulnerable in matters of personal identity when you’re navigating it in a public manner, specifically within the very straight confines of Hollywood,” they said accepting the award.
The star continued: “I’m super thankful of the recognition of that challenge, but I also know there are so many others who do not have the support that I do and are not receiving any awards for being out and proud. I dedicate this award to those people.
Honoree Amandla Stenberg speaks onstage during the 2019 Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards Luncheon at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on February 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Essence)
“Had I had more representations of black gay women growing up, I probably would have come to conclusions around my sexuality earlier, because I would have had more conceptions of what is possible, and OK.
“Reflecting on my process makes me recognise the weight of this award and just what visibility means. I have a lot of work to do exhibiting what it means to be visibly queer and proud.”
Stenberg had previously said “f**k yes” to playing a LGBT+ superhero.
“It would be an honour to play that, it would be fantastic,” she said.
