Octavia Spencer is set to reunite with ‘The Help’ filmmaker Tate Taylor in the new psychological thriller ‘Ma’.
The 45-year-old actress – who is currently receiving critical acclaim for her role in ‘The Shape of Water’ – has joined Juliette Lewis and Luke Evans in the new film which is set to be produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions.
Director Taylor told Variety: "It’s dark material, but it’s also really fun.
"Octavia is so damn likeable that we usually see her in certain roles. But she’s such a good actress and this is such a complex character that if I do my job right, people in the audience are going to want to push pause and say, ‘Can we please take you out for coffee so you don’t do what you’re about to do.’ "
Production is set to start this month with some of the shooting taking place on Taylor’s own 100-acre home and Greek Revival mansion.
Spencer has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in Guillermo del Toro’s latest movie and admitted she felt she was "living in a bubble" on the set.
She said: "I don’t really venture into the real world, because you know it is hard to play a woman from this era and then have all of these things you’re able to do now. So it is kind of like living in a bubble. So I spent a lot of time with Sally Hawkins."
In the movie, Hawkins plays a mute cleaner who stumbles on an amphibious man and Spencer admitted the film had an "even deeper meaning" for her because her brother is mute.
She added: "I know this very well. My brother is mute. So it has an even deeper meaning for me.
"It’s more beautiful because I understand the beauty of not being able to say words but still convey feelings."