Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles is joining the cast of an upcoming feature film called Harriet, about the life of Harriet Tubman. She joins castmembers Cynthia Erivo as Tubman, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn and Clarke Peters. The movie is described as following "Tubman on her escape from slavery and subsequent missions to free dozens of slaves through the Underground Railroad in the face of growing pre-Civil War adversity."
Leading up to this project, Nettles has played Dolly Parton's mother, Avie Lee Parton, in the 2015 TV-movie Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors and in Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love in 2016. Prior to that, she appeared on Broadway in early 2015, starring as Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Harriet is scheduled to start shooting in Virginia next month.