by Nathaniel R
Did you know they were making a movie of 2016's Best Play winner The Humans? Jayne Houdyshell, a brilliant stage actress (pictured center top above), actually got to reprise her Tony-winning role for the film. Imagine not being replaced by Meryl Streep in a Tony-to-Oscar hopeful transition project! Her Tony winning co-star Reed Birney (also a wonderful actor) was replaced though...
The movie version stars Houdyshell, Beanie Feldstein, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun and two previous Oscar nominees June Squibb and Richard Jenkins (the latter has what we assume is the Reed Birney role). The play about a family squabbling over Thanksgiving dinner was a major hit on Broadway, running nearly an entire year which is rare for a straight play.
These photo are from the announcement that filming has wrapped! Jayne Houdyshell will next be seen in a small role in Greta Gerwig's Little Women.
And can we get a round of applause for Steven Yeun who has been playing his career JUST RIGHT after that Walking Dead exit, catapulting from 'that guy from The Walking Dead' to a major thespian not to be underestimated courtesy of a supporting role in a brilliant Korean film (Burning) followed by a prestige stage adaptation (The Humans), and the lead role in an indie family drama about Korean-Americans (Minari, in post-production now), plus a slew of animated voice work gigs to keep him busy and well compensated in between films (Invincible, Final Space, 3 Below: Tales of Arcadia, Tuca & Bertie). Exciting times if you're a Steven Yeun fan as we notably are.