Kevin Kline, Daveed Diggs, Loretta Devine, More Tapped for Upcoming Drama The Starling

A host of stage veterans will take to the big screen for the film The Starling, directed by Ted Melfi, according to Deadline.

Kevin Kline, who most recently starred on Broadway with a Tony-winning turn in Present Laughter, will star opposite Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd. Fellow Broadway alums Daveed Diggs (Hamilton) and Loretta Devine (Dreamgirls), as well as Timothy Olyphant, Skyler Gisondo, Laura Harrier, Rosalind Chao, and Kimberly Quinn also join the cast.

Written by Matt Harris, the film follows McCarthy and O’Dowd as a grieving married couple. McCarthy’s Lily tries to heal by growing a garden, but is attacked by a nesting starling. She seeks the help of Kline’s psychiatrist-come-veterinarian.

Prior to Present Laughter, Kline has performed on Broadway in 16 other productions. He won a Tony Award for his work in the 1978 musical On The Twentieth Century and a second Tony for The Pirates of Penzance. He was nominated in 2004 for the Tony for Best Actor in a Play for Henry IV.

Diggs most recently starred Off-Broadway in the new Suzan-Lori Parks play White Noise. He will also appear in the upcoming TV adaptation of Snowpiercer and Showtime's The Good Lord Bird. In 2018, he starred in Blindspotting—a film he wrote with longtime collaborator Rafael Casal. The duo just wrapped up their fifth annual BARS Workshop at the Public Theater.

READ: Hamilton Tony Winner Daveed Diggs to Play Frederick Douglass in Showtime Limited Series

The Starling is financed by Limelight as well as Entertainment One and Boies/Schiller Film Group. Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker of Limelight produce alongside Quinn. Zack Schiller and David Boies of Boies/Schiller executive produce with Alex Dong.