Exclusive: The Knife cast interviews with Nnamdi Asomugha, Melissa Leo, Aja Naomi King
Hitting theaters on August 15 from Greenwich Entertainment is The Knife, co-written (with Mark Duplass), produced, directed and starring Nnamdi Asomugha. Also starring in the film are Melissa Leo, Aja Naomi King, Manny Jacinto, Amari Price and Aiden Price.
All Chris (Nnamdi Asomugha) wants is to carve a promising future for his beloved wife Alex (Aja Naomi King) and their two girls; a young family chasing the American Dream. One fateful night, Chris’ entire world is shaken to its core as a stranger mysteriously shows up in their humble abode. Distressed by the events of the night and the revelations seemingly at every turn, the family must also contend with the steadfast Detective Carlsen (Melissa Leo) who’s eager to solve the mystery of their intrusion.
Asomugha is producing under his iAm21 Productions banner, alongside Jonathan T. Baker and Ami Werges, with Mark and Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Chijioke Asomugha and Rao Meka serving as executive producers. A former NFL player who made the transition to producing numerous films and acting in some such as Sylvie’s Love, Crown Heights, Hello, My Name Is Doris, The Good Nurse, Asomugha is making his feature directorial debut with The Knife.
Leo won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2011 for Paramount’s David O. Russell-directed The Fighter. She’s starred in such movies as Frozen River, on which she received an Oscar nom for Best Actress, and Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, The Equalizer franchise, Oliver Stone’s Snowden and the HBO series I Know This Much Is True.
King, who starred as Michaela Pratt on How To Get Away With Murder for the series’ six-season run on ABC, and played a main role opposite Brie Larson and Lewis Pullman in Apple TV+’s limited series Lessons In Chemistry, recently starred in NBC’s Grosse Pointe Garden Society. Her role in Lessons earned her an Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Her film credits include the historical film The Birth of a Nation (2016), the biographical drama A Girl from Mogadishu (2019), the romantic comedy Boxing Day (2021), comedy drama The Upside (2017), romantic drama Sylvie's Love (2020), and the historical drama The 24th (2020).
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with Nnamdi Asomugha, Melissa Leo, Aja Naomi King on The Knife.