David Gyasi to Play George Moses Horton in Kevin Willmott's The Bard

David Gyasi , best known for playing the suave and well-tailored U.K. foreign secretary Austin Dennison in Netflix’s political thriller series “ The Diplomat ,” has landed his first lead film role.

The British actor has joined “The Bard,” telling the true story of George Moses Horton, the first Black poet to be published in America while enslaved, a feat punishable by death. Horton — to be played by Gyasi — wrote love poems and anti-slavery protests, and was assisted by the white wife of a UNC Chapel Hill professor, who eventually became an anti-abolitionist.

“The Bard” is being directed by Kevin Willmott , who won the Oscar for co-writing “BlackKklansman” with frequent collaborator Spike Lee and wrote and directed “The 24th.” The filmmaker is working from a script he wrote alongsid