Ava DuVernay's Caste Adds Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Vera Farmiga and more to Its Star-Studded Ensemble

by Darian Scalamoni

    It's been quite a long while since we've seen a film from the terrific filmmaker, Ava DuVernay (Selma, When They See Us), however, she is assembling quite the cast for what will be her next film, Caste. According to multiple outlets, her latest film has added a number of talents to the ensemble which include Jon Bernthal (The Wolf of Wall Street), Niecy Nash-Betts (When They See Us), Nick Offerman (Devs), Vera Farmiga (The Departed), Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (Blindspotting). 

    The six actors will join recent Oscar-nominee Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard) in the film that is inspired by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Isabel Wilkerson's novel Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, which examines the hierarchy that shaped American culture through eight "pillars of caste." The book has been described by the New York Times as "an instant American classic and almost certainly the keynote nonfiction book of the American century thus far." DuVernay produces, writes and directs the film that is shooting currently in Georgia. 

    The film acts as a reunion of sorts for DuVernay and some of the talent involved. Farmiga and Nash-Betts both starred in her limited series, When They See Us, while Offerman had a lead role playing Colin Kaepernick's adoptive father in Colin in Black & White. The two projects both were housed at Netflix, where Caste will also stream once its completed production. 

    Bernthal had a big year in 2022 starring in two series, American Gigolo for Showtime and We Own This City for HBO. He'll next appear in the film Snow Ponies with Evan Peters and Josh Gad. Nash-Betts recently won the Critics Choice award for her role in Netflix's Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story where she portrayed the serial killer's neighbor, Glenda Cleveland. Offerman has a supporting role in the HBO mega-hit The Last of Us based on the PlayStation video game of the same name and will next appear in another ensemble drama Dumb Money about the GameStop stock market chaos.

    Farmiga recently joined the MCU as Kate Bishop's mother in the Disney+ series Hawkeye and will be seen next in the comedy film Inappropriate Behavior later this year. Nielsen is currently in production on a number of films including Tonight at Noon with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Role Play alongside Kaley Cuoco and recent-Oscar nominee, Bill Nighy. Emmy-winner Cephas Jones produces and stars in the Starz drama Blindspotting based on the 2018 drama of the same name for which she also starred in.