Drea De Matteo Joins ‘Dark Places’

The Sopranos actress Drea de Matteo has been added to the film adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel Dark Places.

The film focuses on Libby Day (Charlize Theron), whose family was murdered when she was a little girl. Libby testifies against her teenage brother, Ben (Corey Stoll), but is forced to revisit the massacre 25 years later when a vigilante group tells her he is actually innocent. Much of the film will be told through flashbacks to Libby’s childhood.

De Mateo will play Krissi Cates, a down-on-her luck stripper who accuses Ben of being a child molester and who knows what really happened to the Day family.

Mad Men star Christina Hendricks was cast in the role last month, but has since been cast as Patty Day, Libby’s mother. Samantha Morton was originally cast as Patty but dropped out. The reason for her departure is currently unknown, but the actress did have prior commitments. She recently completed John McNaugthon’s The Harvest, Liv Ulmann’s Miss Julie is currently in post-production, and Stephen Wallis’ Magik is currently filming.

“In the hands of such an accomplished team of creative filmmakers, the cast for Dark Places is shaping up to be a tour de force line up of exceptional performers who will bring a wealth of appeal to an already distinguished project. We could not be happier,” said the film’s producers Nigel Sinclair and Guy East.

Dark Places began production on location in Shreveport, Louisiana, last Friday. The film is written and directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Sarah’s Key).

Drea de Matteo is best known for her role as Adriana La Cerva, the girlfriend — and later, fiancee — of Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) on The Sopranos. De Matteo appeared as part of the main cast from 2000 to 2004, and as part of the recurring cast in 1999 and 2006. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role in 2004.

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