Earlier this year, Aziz Ansari announced his directorial debut Being Mortal based on the popular non-fiction book from Atul Gawande. Now, actress Keke Palmer has signed on to the project.
Palmer joins Seth Rogen and Bill Murray for the movie from Searchlight Pictures. The movie will be a comedy-drama based on the book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, a non-fiction account of Dr. Atul Gawande and his experience working as a surgeon in hospice and end-of-life care. Ansari wrote the script himself.
After becoming the breakout star of Akeelah And The Bee in 2006, Palmer became a Nickelodeon star, leading her own series True Jackson VP as a teen. Most recently, she has been a voice actor in Netflix’s Big Mouth and starred in 2019’s hit film Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez. This year, she is slated to star in Jordan Peele’s highly-anticipated horror movie NOPE with Daniel Kaluuya and Euphoria’s Barbie Ferreria.
Ansari is known for his work on Parks and Recreation and co-creating Netflix’s hit Master of None, which snagged two Emmys. This will be his first time in the director’s chair for a major motion picture, though the actor previously directed a handful of episodes of Master of None. In addition to writing and directing, Ansari is also expected to star in Being Mortal.