Continuing a trend set by the Harry Potter films of casting award-winning actors as the supporting cast for young-adult fare, Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer has signed on for the Divergent sequel. She’ll now join Kate Winslet in bringing a touch of class to Insurgent, which hits theaters March 2015.
Spencer will play Johanna, the representative of one of the five factions that rule a dystopian Chicago. She serves as the speaker for Amity, the peaceful group that balances out the honest, brave, selfless, and intelligent factions Shailene Woodley’s Tris is rebelling against. Johanna plays an increasingly important role throughout the series, and Spencer will likely return in the final two films—which, as previously reported, will split the final book in half, in another YA book-to-film tradition.
Johanna’s most notable feature is a long scar that runs across her face and leaves her blind in one eye. But those hours Spencer will presumably spend in make-up will undoubtedly be worth it, as she can now join Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Donald Sutherland, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and Viola Davis at the “Thanks For The Paycheck” table. [via The Wrap]