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Some of y’all probably still consider his role in Baby Boy to be his best yet, but R&B Tyrese Gibson is about to top that.
According to Deadline, the multi Grammy-nominated singer has been cast as Teddy Pendergrass in a forthcoming biopic. The story should be good, as Joan Pendergrass—Teddy’s widow—has been tapped to executive produce and Warner Bros. was able to secure the rights to Pendergrass’ music. Also on the production lineup is Donald De Line (Ready Player One), Lee Daniels (Empire, The Butler, Precious), and Gibson himself.
“I am honored to take this journey… this is the role that I feel I was born to play,” Gibson said in a statement. “Teddy Pendergrass embraced me and before he passed put the responsibility on my shoulders to tell his story. Being here in this time and in this space and moment with Lee Daniels, Donald De Line, Little Marvin and Warner Bros is an answered prayer. Teddy, I just hope we make you, your wife and family proud… Here we go!!”
As noted by Deadline, Gibson has been hard at work as of late. On top of gearing up for his role as Teddy Pendergrass, he’s also been shooting Black & Blue for Sony Screen Gems and will begin shooting Fast and the Furious 9 very soon.
“Gibson also recently recurred on Daniels’ Fox series Star,” adds Deadline. “He also wrote and starred in director Paul Hunter’s Shame opposite Jennifer Hudson, which he produced with Denzel Washington. The film won ‘Best of Fest’ at the 2016 LA Film Shorts Festival.”
Pendergrass established his singing career in the 1970s and 1980s during which he released four consecutive platinum albums. He died in 2010 after suffering a spinal cord injury in a 1982 car accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
