Tim Blake Nelson To Produce & Star In ‘Asleep In My Palm’, His Son Henry’s Feature Directorial Debut

Matt Grobar
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Tim Blake Nelson (Nightmare Alley, Old Henry) will produce and star in Asleep in My Palm, an indie marking the feature directorial debut of his son, Henry Nelson.

The emerging writer-director’s film tells the story of a man and the daughter he’s raising off the grid in northeastern Ohio, on the outskirts of an elite liberal arts college.

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The elder Nelson will produce alongside Shannon Houchins (Old Henry) of Hideout Pictures and Vince Jolivette (Zola), with Old Henry’s writer-director Potsy Ponciroli on board to exec produce. The film is scheduled to enter production in Oberlin, Ohio in late January.

“Henry has written a story about the relationship between the ideals of a liberal arts college and the realities of the poverty and isolation that surround it that I’ve never seen addressed before. We’ve been talking about collaborating since he was twelve years old, and this feels like a perfect way to begin,” said Tim Blake Nelson. “It makes it even better to work again with Shannon and Potsy after their extraordinary accomplishment with Old Henry.”

“We are very excited to jump into another project with Tim,” added Houchins, “and being a part of Henry’s directorial debut makes it especially gratifying.”

Henry Nelson is a fifth-year student at the Oberlin Conservatory pursuing degrees in Classical Composition and Jazz Composition. At Oberlin, he formed and runs Probable Voltages, a music and production label/collective, which has produced numerous albums, shorts, and music videos.

Tim Blake Nelson is an actor, playwright and filmmaker who recently drew some of the best reviews of his career with his turn in Ponciroli’s Shout! Factory Western, Old Henry. He will next appear in Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley and the STX sports drama National Champions, as well as Del Toro’s stop-motion animated feature Pinocchio and his upcoming Netflix anthology series, Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight.

Over the last 30-plus years, Nelson has appeared in more than 80 features. Notable credits include Just Mercy, The Report, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Fantastic Four, Kill the Messenger, Lincoln, The Incredible Hulk, Syriana, Minority Report, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Hamlet, The Thin Red Line and Donnie Brasco. He’s also written, directed and starred in films including Anesthesia and Leaves of Grass, appearing on the TV side in Watchmen, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Wormwood, Black Dynamite and more.

Tim Blake Nelson is represented by UTA, Gateway Management Company and Bloom Hergott Diemer; Houchins by Verve Talent and Literary Agency; Jolivette by attorney Adam W. Rosen; Ponciroli by Verve Talent and Literary Agency and Thruline Entertainment.

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