Adam Davenport (Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage)

Up-and-comer Adam Davenport has been tapped to play Hercules in director Alex Ewen’s indie feature “Project Olympus,” which Michael Epstein and David Kenneth Eng at Road Warrior Entertainment are producing, with Eve Pomerance casting.

The filmmakers describe “Olympus” as a feature length rock musical movie about the Greek Gods.

Casting in process with filming is set to begin this month in New York City.

I can’t say how often in film history actors of African descent have played Hercules on the big or small screen (something I’ve never really thought about; but I will research); Dwayne Johnson played Hercules in the 2014 film directed by Brett Ratner. But Davenport might be one of the very few instances where this has happened.

As the actor said, “I’m not quite sure if I made history here, but the casting still feels important as it shows that we are entering into an era where color-blind casting is being embraced and an actor can be cast solely based on talent; this has longer been the case in theater but it feels like film and TV are catching up.”

Davenport, a Yale-trained stage actor who has been mentored by and worked with the likes of Oscar winners/nominees Melissa Leo, Sally Kirkland and Alfre Woodard, most recently guest-starred on Discovery ID’s “Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall,” and will next appear in the Off-Broadway production of “Last of the Caucasians” at the Barrow Group.

Davenport is repped by manager David Guillod at Primary Wave, Carlos Carreras and Will Lowery at APA, attorney Matt Rosen at SGSLLP and publicist Dominic Friesen at Bridge and Tunnel Communications.

Adam Davenport

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