Janis Joplin Role Goes To Nina Arianda

Tony-Award-winning actress Nina Arianda has landed the role of Janis Joplin in the upcoming biopic based on the singer’s life.

Deadline reports that this will be Arianda’s first starring role in a motion picture. Arianda has appeared on the big screen in supporting roles. She played Carol in Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris and Miss Iovenko in Tower Heist.

She’s most well-known, however, as a talented stage actress. Arianda recently won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress for her role in Venus In Fur.

Producer Peter Newman said:

“I’ve never in my life seen an actress walk on a stage and convey the duality of vulnerability with overheated sexuality, which is what Janis was all about.”

But the Janis Joplin role isn’t the only big news about the untitled project.

The film has also secured the rights to several Janis Joplin songs. According to Deadline, the Joplin Biopic will feature “exclusive use of 21 of Joplin’s best-known songs.” And the music won’t just be playing in the background. Arianda will reportedly sing most of the songs in the new movie.

The LA Times reports that the new movie will be directed by Sean Durkin, who recently directed the indie hit Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Are you a fan of Nina Arianda? Do you think she’ll make a good Janis Joplin?

Here’s a look at Nina in Venus In Fur with Hugh Dancy.