Update: The entire ‘Black Mass’ cast has been revealed. Check out the stars and their roles below.
Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger
Benedict Cumberbatch as Whitey’s brother Billy Bulger.
Sienna Miller as Catherine Greig.
Dakota Johnson as Whitey’s ex Lindsey Cyr.
Joel Edgerton as FBI Agent John Connolly.
Julianne Nicholson as Connolly’s wife.
Adam Scott as FBI Agent Robert Fitzpatrick.
Rory Cochrane as Steve Flemmi.
Jesse Plemons as Kevin Weeks.
The cast will also feature Corey Stoll, Brad Carter, and Jeremy Strong.
Guy Pearce is out, and Benedict Cumberbatch, the British actor most known for his role as a modern day Sherlock Holmes on the BBC show Sherlock, is in as Whitey Bulger’s brother Billy Bulger in the upcoming bioflick Black Mass.
According to Variety, due to scheduling conflicts, the crew couldn’t make it work with Pearce for the Scott Cooper-directed film that began shooting in Boston last Wednesday, when first looks at Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger surfaced. So, Pearce has left the film, and Cumberbatch has been taken on as Billy Bulger.
It’s an odd choice, seeing as Cumberbatch has a distinguished, very English, demeanor, but when you consider that Billy was the law-abiding other half to Whitey, as well as a Massachusetts Senator, it can sort of make sense. Sort of. We’ll just have to see how it all comes together – after seeing Depp as Whitey, we’re reminded that an actor can certainly undergo a transformation for a role. However, I’m less concerned about Cumberbatch’s appearance (even if he may look decidedly like a foot) and more concerned about his attempt at a Boston accent.
Other notable actors involved in the project include Adam Scott, Jeremy Strong, Rory Cochrane and Julianne Nicholson.
Another interesting point that Variety reports is that the film may no longer be titled Black Mass. The site reports that the film was once named after the book which the movie will be adapted from, “Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob,” but it’s currently untitled. We haven’t heard this news for anywhere else, but we’ll keep updating if the name of the Whitey Bulger bioflick does, indeed, change.
h/t Variety; stock image
