EXCLUSIVE: Tony Award winner and five-time nominee Laura Benanti will star opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Sony‘s R-rated comedy No Hard Feelings from director Gene Stupnitsky.
Benanti joins Broadway and Disney+ star Andrew Barth Feldman (High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) in the pic, which hit theaters on June 16. Production is underway.
In the movie, Lawrence plays a ne’er-do-well who is hired by a wealthy couple to socialize with their introverted son. Feldman plays the kid, and Benanti plays his wealthy mom.
The screenplay is written by Stupnitsky & John Phillips. Alex Saks, Marc Provissiero, Naomi Odenkirk, Lawrence and Justine Ciarrochi are producing. John Phillips is executive producing.
Benanti recently starred in Amy Schumer’s Life & Beth, and She is set to recur in the second season of HBO’s period drama The Gilded Age. Benanti previously starred in Netflix’s Worth, opposite Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci and Amy Ryan; hit TV series Younger; and Here Today starring Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish; and appeared in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s awards-season favorite, Tick, Tick…Boom!
Other TV credits include series regular roles on the Samantha Bee- and Jason Jones-produced TBS show The Detour, Go On opposite Matthew Perry and Starved for FX as well as recurring and guest appearances on The CW’s Supergirl, ABC’s Nashville and Eli Stone, CBS’ The Good Wife and Elementary, Showtime’s Nurses Jackie and The Big C, NBC’s The Sound of Music Live and Law & Order: SVU, and USA’s Royal Pains.
Benanti has been a showstopper on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in her comedic portrayal of former First Lady Melania Trump.
Benanti’s unscripted special, Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020, which was inspired by her project #SunshineSongs, aired on HBO Max.
She also guest stars on the variety show Ziwe featuring comedian Ziwe Fumudoh.
Benanti played Louise in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, winning the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Her other Tony noms are Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Swing! (2000), Best Featured Actress in a Musical for 2002’s Into the Woods, Best Featured Actress in a Musical for 2011’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Best Actress in a Musical for 2016’s She Loves Me. Benanti returned to Broadway in 2019 as Eliza Doolittle in Lincoln Center’s production of My Fair Lady.