Thomasin McKenzie is going for the gold.
The young star has signed on to play Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug in the upcoming biopic “Perfect,” from director and exec. producer Olivia Wilde.
McKenzie, best known for her breakout performances in “Leave No Trace” and “Jojo Rabbit,” will portray Strug in the film, which is described as “an intimate and unflinching portrait of grit and determination” and tells the story behind Strug’s historic olympic vault which secured America’s first-ever gold medal in team gymnastics during the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The film’s script comes from Ronnie Sandahl (“Borg v. McEnroe). Riverstone Pictures and Pulse Films will produce the project, with Nik Bower, Thomas Benski, Jeremy Baxter and Moss Barclay serving as producers. Wilde and Sandahl are executive produces alongside Deepak Nayar and Marisa Clifford.
Filming on the Searchlight Pictures film is set to begin in 2022.
Since breaking onto the scene with “Leave No Trace” (and earning the National Board of Review for Breakthrough Actor of 2018 award for her work), McKenzie has booked a number of lead roles in high-profile projects. She will next be seen in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” and Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho.” McKenzie is currently in production on the BBC adaptation of Kate Atkinson’s “Life After Life.”
Deadline was first to report news of McKenzie’s casting. The actor is repped by UTA, Industry Entertainment, Untitled Entertainment and Gail Cowan Management.
The 1996 United States women’s gymnastics team at the Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. From left are Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, Jaycie Phelps, Dominique Moceanu, Kerri Strug, and Shannon MIller. (AP Photo/John Gaps III, File)
AP