Viola Davis to Star as Harriet Tubman in HBO Film

Viola Davis is tapped to star as the African-American historic figure, Harriet Tubman, in an upcoming HBO biopic. Davis will play the role of the female she-ro that created a system that helped hundreds of slaves escape slavery through what we now know as the Underground Railroad.

Tubman escaped from slavery in Maryland in 1849 and helped organize a network of safe houses to help her relatives. She eventually helped hundreds of slaves to secure their freedom and became the most famous “conductor” on the network.

Tubman also served as a cook, nurse, and even a spy with the Union Army during the Civil War.

The film is in its early stages and is expected to start production during Davis’s down time from filming “How to Get Away with Murder.”  She is developing the film with Amblin TV and writer Kirk Ellis, and is executive producing it with her husband Julius Tennon; Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Ellin, Jim Lefkowitz, and Cliff Dorfman.

The untitled movie is based on the book “Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero” by Kate Clifford Larson.

Source: Variety