Corey Hawkins Joins Amazon MGM Thriller ‘Crime 101’

EXCLUSIVE: Corey Hawkins (The Piano Lesson) has come aboard for a role in Bart Layton’s thriller Crime 101, based on the Don Winslow novella, for Amazon MGM Studios.

His part is under wraps, as all parts have been so far, along with the film’s plot. The novella follows veteran jewel thief Davis as he plans a high-stakes diamond heist along the Pacific Coast Highway, getting into a cat-and-mouse chase with dedicated LAPD detective named Lou Lubesnick after executing what he hopes will be his final score before disappearing for good.

Pic’s starry ensemble also features Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Halle Berry, and Monica Barbaro.

Layton is directing the pic, intended for theatrical release, from his own script. Producers are Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner; The Story Factory’s Shane Salerno; RAW’s Layton and Dimitri Doganis; Derrin Schlesinger; and Wild State’s Hemsworth and Ben Grayson. RAW’s Joely Fether will executive produce.

An Emmy and two-time Tony award nominee who gained recognition for his breakout role in Straight Outta Compton, Hawkins is coming off roles in Warners’ The Color Purple and Uni’s Last Voyage of the Demeter. He’ll next be seen starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington in The Piano Lesson, Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of the August Wilson Play, which releases in select theaters November 8 and begins streaming on Netflix on November 22.

Most recently wrapping opposite Willem Dafoe and Anna Diop on thriller The Man in My Basement, the actor is repped by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.