The 24-year-old British actress Daisy Edgar-Jones will be playing the role of songwriter Carole King in Sony’s upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway production Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The biopic is to be directed by Lisa Cholodenko, who had earlier directed The Kids Are All Right. Edgar-Jones most recently starred in Sony’s highly successful film Where The Crawdads Sing, which grossed $140 million worldwide.
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical ended a five-year-run on Broadway in October of 2019. Its star, Jessie Mueller, earned a Tony Award for her portrayal of the lead character. The musical showcased some of King’s hit songs, including “One Fine Day,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Over her decades-long career, Carole King produced 25 solo albums, including Tapestry, which won her a Grammy and holds the record for the most-weeks-as-number one song by a female artist.
After appearing in the television series Cold Feet (2016-2020) and War of the Worlds (2019-2021), Daisy Edgar-Jones made her film debut in Hulu’s romantic drama, Normal People. She next starred in Fresh, the Sundance comedy thriller, playing opposite Sebastian Stan. The actresss received a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress in FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven.
Songwriter King gave her blessing to the choice of Edgar-Jones for the role, telling Variety: “Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger. She’s a tremendous talent and I know she’s going to give a great performance.”
The script for Beautiful is a collaboration between Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg. More than seven years ago, Sony secured the rights to use King’s songs in the biopic. The upcoming film is being produced by a trio that includes Tom Hanks, Paul Blake, and Gary Goetzman of Playtone.
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