James R | On 11, Jun 2015

Jaden Smith has joined the cast for Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down.

The Netflix original series, which is set in the 1970s Bronx, is the director’s first music-driven drama since Moulin Rouge. The 13-episode programme follows a rag-tag crew of South Bronx teenagers, who are nothings and nobodies with no one to shelter them – except each other.

From Bronx tenements to the SoHo art scene, from CBGBs to Studio 54 and even the glass towers of the just-built World Trade Center, The Get Down is a saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to hip-hop, punk and disco.

Will Smith’s son will play Marcus “Dizzee” Kipling, a “psychedelically talented and enigmatic graffiti writer” of 18 years, who has been raised in the South Bronx.

He joins a cast that includes Jimmy Smits (Francisco Cruz, aka Papa Fuerte), Herizen Guardiola (Mylene Cruz), Justice Smith (Ezekiel), Shameik Moore (Shaolin Fantastic), Skylan Brooks (Ra Ra), Tremaine Brown, Jr. (Boo Boo), Yahya Abdul-Mateen (Cadillac) and Mamoudou Athie (Grandmaster Flash).

“We as an audience have known Jaden since he was very young,” comments Luhrmann. “Recently, Jaden has been seeking diverse and challenging roles and this is a testament to his passion to grow in the craft. In the short time he has joined our acting family, he has begun developing his The Get Down skill set, even taking lessons from the legendary graffiti artist Lady Pink of ‘Wild Style’ fame, as well as steeping himself in the history and culture of the Bronx. We’re all very happy with the casting of Jaden in the role of ‘Dizzee’ Kipling, and with his addition, the Kipling family cast is now complete.”

Photo: Alex McDonell

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