Paul Giamatti & Sarah Paulson Join 12 Years a Slave

The cast of Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave has grown substantially, with Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, Scoot McNairy, Ruth Negga, and Garret Dillahunt all signing on to star in the period drama, according to Variety.

The movie is based on the true story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a New York free black man who was kidnapped in Washington D.C. in 1841, and sold to a Louisiana plantation. He was a slave for 12 years before being rescued. Paul Giamatti is playing Freeman, who takes possession of the slaves after they arrive in New Orleans. Sarah Paulson the jealous wife of Michael Fassbender’s character. It isn’t clear who Scoot McNairy, Ruth Negga, and Garret Dillahunt will play. Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch also star.

Steve McQueen is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with John Ridley, which is adapted from Northrup’s 1853 non-fiction book.