Ava DuVernay’s ‘Caste’ Casts Oscar Nominee Aunjanue Ellis As Lead

deadline.com:

Aunjanue Ellis has been cast as the lead in Ava DuVernay’s adaption of Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste. The addition of the King Richard veteran and Academy Award nominee to the film is a When They See Us reunion of sorts between the director and the actress.

Ellis portrayed Sharonne Salaam, the mother of the falsely accused Yusef Salaam in the acclaimed Netflix series. Debuting on the streamer in 2019, the Emmy winning When They See Us was based on the tale of five young men of color who were taken to court for raping a white female jogger in NYC in 1989 – a horrible crime they did not commit.

Along with co-star Niecy Nash, Ellis was nominated for an Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Primetime Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her WTSU performance.

In 2021, Ellis was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy for HBO’s Lovecraft Country, for which she also received a SAG Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Drama Series nomination.