Tasha Smith joins forces with Lee Daniels for Netflix’s exorcism thriller
Empire alum Tasha Smith has signed on to star in filmmaker Lee Daniels’ untitled horror film, inspired by an actual case. Netflix is bankrolling the upcoming project. The streamer nabbed the film in a bidding war for $65M.
The story centres on Ebony (Andra Day), the mother of an Indiana family whose children purportedly became demonically possessed.
Smith is set to star as Ebony's best friend Asia. In addition to her, the film also features Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, Glenn Close, Rob Morgan, Caleb McLaughlin, and Aunjanue Ellis in prominent roles.
The project marks Smith and Daniels' reunion after Empire. The former played the role of Carol Hardaway on the Fox series across 31 episodes. She also directed two episodes of Fox drama series Star, co-created by Daniels.
Her feature credits include Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married, Too? She also played the character of Angela in Tyler Perry’s OWN series For Better or Worse. That performance earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination as Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.
