Kirsten Dunst to star in Hidden Figures

Actor Kirsten Dunst has joined the cast of Hidden Figures opposite Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae and Kevin Costner.

Hidden Figures, which will be helmed by Ted Melfi, tells the true story of African-American female mathematicians at NASA, who provided the calculations that helped fuel some of the greatest achievements in space by the US. 

Production banner 20th Century Fox has been developing the adaptation of Margot Lee Shetterly’s book ‘Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race’.

The story is told through the personal accounts of the four women known as the ‘Colored Computers’ and their accomplishment is set against the background of the Jim Crow South and the civil rights movement. 

The story centers Katherine Johnson, a brilliant African-American mathematician who, along with her colleagues Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, served as the brains behind the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and his safe return.  

The three women crossed all gender, race and professional lines while embarking on the mission. 

As women in Hollywood routinely endure gendered pay, disrespect from male coworkers, it’s surely

a topic that Henson, Dunst, and the rest of the cast can relate to.