Cliff “Method Man” Smith is officially stepping into the shadows.
The Grammy-winning artist and actor has joined the cast of Sunny, a dark thriller starring Angelina Jolie and Charlie Plummer, from Norwegian filmmaker Eva Sørhaug (Tokyo Vice, Yellowjackets). The project has been in the works since December and is currently in production.
Riffing on classic mafia films, Sunny centers on a female gangster who must protect her sons — and herself — from an abusive drug kingpin. When a devastating event upends everything, she’s left with only hours to plan their permanent escape, turning the story into a tense, high-stakes race against time.
Smith — best known to TV audiences for his NAACP Image Award–winning run on Power Book II: Ghost — will play Ruskin, a black-market art dealer. Character specifics are otherwise being kept tightly under wraps.
The film is written by William Day Frank, who conceived the story alongside Sørhaug. Production comes from Gramercy Park Media, A Higher Standard, and Nickel City Pictures. Nathan Klingher produces for Gramercy Park Media alongside Jolie, with Mark Fasano producing for Nickel City Pictures and Jeffrey Greenstein for A Higher Standard. Sørhaug also executive produces. Worldwide sales are being handled by A Higher Standard, with WME Independent co-representing domestic rights.
For Smith, Sunny continues a busy run across film and television. He’ll next be seen opposite Kelly Rowland in Amazon MGM Studios’ romantic comedy Relationship Goals, streaming February 4, and alongside Leslie Mann in Maude Apatow’s directorial debut Poetic License, which premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival and is set for a theatrical release in May.
Plummer’s role in Sunny has not yet been revealed, but his casting adds another compelling layer to a project that’s shaping up to be a sharp, character-driven thriller anchored by Jolie’s return to darker material.
With its tight timeframe, mafia-film DNA, and an increasingly stacked cast, Sunny is positioning itself as one of the more intriguing genre titles currently in production.