For an actor, there’s no better awards bait than an appearance-transforming role in a biographical war movie. World, meet The Free State of Jones.
Matthew McConaughey will star in the action-drama as Newt Knight, a Mississippi farmer who led a southern rebellion against the Confederates during the Civil War. He and his followers “seceded” from the Confederacy, calling Jones County “The Free State of Jones.” After the war, he distinguished himself from fellow southerners once again by marrying a former slave named Rachel.
The movie is directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games) and will hit theaters March 11, 2016.
Read next: Treat Yourself to Matthew McConaughey’s Dazed and Confused Audition Tape
Listen to the most important stories of the day.
- How the Anti-Vax Movement Is Taking Over the Right
- What Happens Next in Ukraine Could Change Europe Forever
- There's So Much More To Say About Bill Cosby
- Death Doulas Used to Be Rare. The COVID-19 Pandemic Changed That
- What It Feels Like to Be a Muslim Woman Auctioned Online by India's Right Wing
- America's First Openly Trans City Council President Wants to Heal Minneapolis
- The World's Farmers Need to Prepare for Serious Cash Crop Disruption
