After dancing and singing her way to an Academy Award in West Side Story, Ariana DeBose is headed for the kitchen. The out actor has been cast in Blumhouse Television’s upcoming House of Spoils.
Deadline broke the news yesterday that Debose has been cast in Blow the Man Down directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Kurdy’s psychological thriller.
DeBose will play an ambitious chef opening her first restaurant on a remote estate. Among the challenges the character will face at her farm-to-table establishment is the malevolent spirit of the estate’s previous owner. The film, which starts production this fall, will stream on Amazon’s Prime Video.
“Since Blow the Man Down, we have been huge fans of Bridget and Danielle’s unique filmmaking voice and knew we needed to be a part of whatever they wanted to do next,” Amazon Studios’ head of movies Julie Rapaport said of the project.
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DeBose posted on Instagram about the announcement Thursday. “New adventures,” she wrote. “So excited to dive in with Danielle, Bridget, Prime Video, Blumhouse, & our incredible producing team.”
She also included a photo of a carefully plated dish. “Stepping out of my comfort zone,” the caption read. “An actor prepares.”
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With her win for Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story, DeBose became the first out queer person of color to win an Academy Award.
“You see a queer, openly queer woman of color and Afro-Latina who found her strength in life through art,” she said in her acceptance speech. “So, to anybody who’s ever questioned your identity – ever, ever, ever – or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: there is indeed a place for us.”
DeBose, who most recently appeared in the fourth season of HBO’s Westworld, is also set to star in the upcoming romantic comedy Two and Only, which has been described as a bisexual Latinx take on My Best Friend’s Wedding.
