Jeff Daniels has been cast in the lead role in A Man in Full, the Netflix limited-series adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s book, Variety reports.
Wolfe’s novel, published in 1998, follows three people, including Charlie Croker, whom Daniels will play, an Atlanta businessman whose place in the city’s high society is threatened after he goes bankrupt. The book, Wolfe’s second novel following The Bonfire of the Vanities, became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller shortly after its release.
The series is being executive produced and written by David E. Kelley, the creator of shows including Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, and Big Little Lies. Emmy- and Oscar-winning actor Regina King (American Crime, If Beale Street Could Talk) will serve as director and executive producer.
Wolfe’s books have been adapted for the screen before, to mixed results. His 1979 nonfiction book, The Right Stuff, formed the basis of a 1983 film directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Sam Shepard and Ed Harris; the movie earned an Oscar nomination for best picture.
His novel The Bonfire of the Vanities was adapted for a movie in 1990 by director Brian De Palma. Despite a star cast that included Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, and Bruce Willis, the film did poorly at the box office,and was famously maligned by critics.
Kelley told Variety that the Man in Full series was a “passion project” for him.
“The opportunity to tackle Tom Wolfe’s brilliant and prescient novel, to have Regina helming—I could not be more excited,” he said.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
