'Beasts of No Nation' Revelation Abraham Attah Joins 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'
By Mike Fleming Jr., Deadline
Abraham Attah, the 15-year old Ghana-born actor who was discovered while playing soccer and made a remarkable screen debut alongside Idris Elba as the primary child soldier Abu in Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, has joined the cast of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Jon Watts-directed pic from Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios is the first major role that Attah has taken since that Netflix film, and he joins recent additions Donald Glover, Martin Starr and Logan Marshall-Green, alongside the webslinger played by Tom Holland, with Robert Downey Jr. playing Iron Man and Michael Keaton playing The Vulture. Zendaya, Michael Barbieri, Kenneth Choi, Tony Revolori and Marisa Tomei are also starring.
Attah is on the set in Atlanta. Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal are producing.
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Though Attah was surprisingly snubbed by the Oscars in a rather tone deaf year for the Academy, he won Best Lead Actor Award in the Independent Spirits. He also won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor at Venice and was nommed for Critics’ Choice and SAG Awards honors.
I got to interview him and Fukunaga in Deadline’s Contenders Event, as he made the rounds at the Venice, Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals to promote the film. I found his poise and performance remarkable, given his age and his newness to the game. At the time, he was content to focus on school back home, but with talent like his, it is not surprising he would find time to take the next step.
Attah is separately attached to play one of the leads in Christian Loubek’s upcoming feature film, Buffalo, which Anonymous Content is producing.
