Thomasin McKenzie Confirmed as Lead In Inspirational Biopic, Perfect
Olympic gold medalist's memoir to be adapted for screen
Congratulations to Thomasin McKenzie who has been confirmed to star in Olivia Wilde’s new biopic, Perfect. Thomasin will play the gymnast, Kerri Strug, who triumphed to win Team USA’s first-ever gold medal for gymnastics at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. The film rights to Kerri Strug and John P. Lopez’s memoir Landing On My Feet generated a hotly contested bidding war among studios and was pre-sold to Searchlight Pictures for $15M.
Strug was lauded for her tenacity and resilience after she completed her final vault on a broken ankle. So debilitating was her injury that she had to be carried to the podium to receive the medal alongside her team. Her inspirational victory moved the nation, and she became a prolific presence on national talk shows, met President Clinton and featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Strug herself wrote to Wilde expressing her delight “I’m beyond grateful it is in your hands!”
Wilde cast the role while in the midst of post-production for her second directorial feature, Don’t Worry Darling, and the search to find the right actor to portray Strug’s spirited perseverance was extensive. Perfect reunites Thomasin with Searchlight Pictures, which also produced Taika Waititi’s academy nominated satire Jojo Rabbit, in which she starred as Elsa. Viewers will next see Thomasin feature in M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller, Old, and Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, both scheduled for release later this year.
Filming is set to commence in 2022, and we will be eager to see your insightful portrayal Thomasin!