Actors Corey Hawkins and Kelvin Harrison Jr. are in talks to join the cast of the forthcoming film adaptation of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Deadline reports. As previously reported, the new adaptation will be led by Tony Award-winner Jeffrey Wright and Academy Award-winner Octavia Spencer.
No word yet on who Hawkins and Harrison would play in the film, but it’s a strong possibility that they take on the roles of Biff and Happy Loman, the sons of Willy and Linda. Hawkins is no stranger to theater projects, having appeared in the film versions of In the Heights and The Color Purple, and received Tony Award nominations for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation and Topdog/Underdog.
Likewise, Kelvin Harrison Jr. starred in the musical films Cyrano and O’Dessa, also lending his voice to Mufasa: The Lion King, which featured songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Other credits include The Trial of the Chicago 7, Elvis, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which is forthcoming. He is currently starring in the world premiere of the play The Disappear, a new comedy from Erica Schmidt, which is playing at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre.
The new version of Death of a Salesman is directed and co-written by Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency, Till) alongside Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner (Angels in America). The project is being produced by Focus Features and Amblin Entertainment.
Jeffrey Wright, who took home a Tony Award for his performance in the original Broadway production of Angels in America, is playing the coveted role of Willy Loman. In 2023, he received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in American Fiction. Spencer, an Academy Award winner for The Help and a three-time nominee, will play Linda Loman.
In addition to writing, Kushner also serves as a producer. Other screen projects from the playwright include Fences, West Side Story, The Fabelmans, and the television adaptation of his own Angels in America.
Miller’s Death of a Salesman premiered on Broadway in 1949, winning both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. With its searing portrait of the American Dream unraveling, the play became one of the cornerstones of 20th-Century Theatre.
Legendary actors, including Lee J. Cobb, Dustin Hoffman, Brian Dennehy, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, have played the role of Willy Loman across stage and screen. The original 1951 film adaptation earned five Academy Award nominations.
A new production of the renowned play is coming to Broadway this Spring, starring three-time Tony Award winner Nathan Lane, two-time Tony Award winner Laurie Metcalf, Christopher Abbott and Ben Ahlers. Directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, Death of a Salesman will begin previews Friday, March 6, for a limited 14-week engagement at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre (1634 Broadway), with an official opening night set for Thursday, April 9.














