Amin Joseph is taking on the role of iconic former Kansas City Royal slugger Willie Mays Aikens for Samuel Goldwyn Films’ upcoming baseball biopic The Royal.
Directed by Marcel Sarmiento and written by Gregory W. Jordan, The Royal tells the true story of the promising career of Kansas City Royals slugger Willie Mays Aikens, that quickly turns disastrous because of drug addiction. Sentenced to prison, Willie seeks redemption with his estranged family, friends and ultimately with himself.
READ: There’s a Reginald F. Lewis Biopic based on his Autobiography in The Works From MACRO
Aikens, to this day a World Series home run record holder, was entrapped by tricky cops and ultimately sentenced to the longest prison sentence ever given to a professional athlete in a drug case. The Royal is an intimate portrait of a man taking the hard circumstances of his life and turning them around against all odds, as he seeks redemption with his estranged family and friends (including George Brett), with baseball, and ultimately with himself upon his release from prison.
It also stars Michael Beach, Elizabeth Rohm, Lisa Raye McCoy, Andrea Navedo, Nic Bishop, and Dallas Young also star in the sports film. Joseph, Scott Resnick, Rick Montgomery, and Gregory Jordan are producing
READ: May The Fourth Be With You: 30 Black Star Wars Actors You Should Know
The true story baseball drama will be released in theaters on July 15.