Kelvin Harrison Jr. to Play Jean-Michel Basquiat in Upcoming Biopic 'Samo Lives'

Kelvin Harrison Jr. is taking on a new role!

Variety reports that the actor will play American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in a biopic directed by Julius Onah.

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The pair previously worked together on the film Luce, which was nominated for best male lead and best director at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Titled Samo Lives, the movie will follow the life and impact of Basquiat, whose paintings and street art were central to the Neo-expressionist art movement of the 1980s.

“Jean-Michel Basquiat redefined the idea of who ascends to the highest altitudes of the fine art world. But the complexity and richness of his experience as an artist and child of the African diaspora has yet to be dramatized in the manner it deserves,” Onah wrote on the film’s website. “It’s an honor to work with Kelvin and my collaborators, and with Endeavor Content, to celebrate the legacy of an artist who has invited audiences everywhere to be inspired by the transformative power of art.”

Samo Lives will be the first movie about the artist to be made by a Black filmmaker.

Kelvin is also set to star in the prequel to an iconic Disney film. Check it out…