EXCLUSIVE: Brother filmmakers Carmelo and Nicholas Chimera have announced seven new principal cast members for Deify, their indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which we announced last week.
Dennis Haysbert (Far from Heaven), Ashley Greene (Twilight), Kirk Acevedo (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Casey Hartnett (Terrifier 2) and Anji White (Ironheart) are among the group. Nicholas Chimera (Unarmed), who’s directing alongside Carmelo from a script he wrote on his own, will also be part of the cast, as will producer Mike Manning, who’s been seen onscreen in projects like This Is Us.
In Deify — currently in production in Chicago — a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.
As previously announced, Ulrich plays the enigmatic and manipulative cult leader, who pleads insanity and claims to be taking his commands directly from God. McDonough plays the assistant attorney general and prosecuting attorney, a man of integrity who profoundly believes in the criminal justice system.
Haysbert plays the judge presiding over the case, with Greene as the court-appointed psychologist and cult deprogrammer who evaluates Ulrich’s character. Acevedo portrays the real-life “Butcher of Galesburg,” who was convicted in 1986 for the gruesome murder and dismemberment of his wife. Character details for the others haven’t been disclosed.
Other cast set for Deify includes Cliff Chamberlain (Homeland), Brian Glanney (There Are No Saints), Jessie Nerud (Better Call Saul), Garrett Andrew Ahrens (Find Her), Jason Potter (Yellowstone), Danny Bohnen (Murder at Yellowstone City), Scotty Bohnen (Sin Eater), Drea Berg (Things Like This), Ricardo Gamboa (The Chi) and Ritchie Ramone of rock band The Ramones.
Chimera Studios and J2 Productions LLC are producing, in association with Mannifest Productions. Producers include Jordan Gianneschi (The Crow), Jacob Rice (As I Lie Awake) and Manning, while McDonough and his wife, Ruvé McDonough, are serving as executive producers. Steven Tylor O’Connor (13 Reasons Why) and Becca McCracken (Somebody Somewhere) handled casting.
Haysbert is repped by IAG, GS Management and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Greene by Innovative Artists, Untitled and Gang, Tyre, Ramer; Acevedo by The Kohner Agency and Abrams Entertainment; Manning by J. Pervis and Patino Management Company; Hartnett by Talent X Alexander and Prestige Management Group; and White by Paonessa Talent Agency, Anonymous Content and Felker McGinnis & Ryan.
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