Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Daisy Edgar-Jones was set to weave herself into the tapestry of Carole King’s life, but the actor is no longer involved in the biopic. Here’s the latest on the Beautiful adaptation.
Daisy Edgar-Jones, natural woman
December 15, 2022: Normal People and Where the Crawdads Sing star Daisy Edgar-Jones will be moving the Earth as King in the film adaptation of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, according to Deadline. Beautiful follows the life of songwriter and singer Carole King through her marriage and later divorce with her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, as well as the days when she moved so far away from the background by recording her solo album Tapestry. On Broadway, Jessie Mueller originated the role of King and won a Tony for her work, so the role comes with pressure. “Daisy has a spirit and energy that I recognized as myself when I was younger,” Carole King said of Edgar-Jones. “She’s a tremendous talent and I know she’s going to give a great performance.” Edgar-Jones will be saying “Where you lead, I will follow” to director Lisa Cholodenko of The Kids Are All Right fame. Edgar-Jones herself is not yet known for her singing, but when you’ve got a friend who occasionally sings and happens to like Carole King, you know she’ll come running to help.
Where Beautiful leads, Daisy Edgar-Jones won’t follow
July 10, 2024: Daisy Edgar-Jones is moving so far away from the Carole King biopic. The Twisters star told Variety she’s no longer involved in the Beautiful adaptation, prompting some confusion over the project’s fate. While Edgar-Jones said “they decided” not to move forward, sources told Variety the film is still going ahead without Edgar-Jones. She added that the script, from director Lisa Cholodenko and co-writer Stuart Blumberg (Cholodenko’s Kids Are All Right partner), “probably needs a little more time in the oven.” But Edgar-Jones did get some piano lessons and a meeting with King herself out of the process. “I was like, This is the coolest thing ever,” she said. “She really enjoyed Normal People, so she was a fan of that and I was a fan of hers. I get so starstruck by musicians, much more than actors, and Carole was one where it was quite hard to keep my cool.”
