Hari Nef Cast as Warhol Muse Candy Darling in Biopic

Actress Hari Nef has been cast as trans icon and Andy Warhol muse Candy Darling in an upcoming biopic, according to Deadline. 

Darling was one of the first women to have first been considered a trans icon, starring in Warhol’s Women in Revolt and serving as an ongoing muse for the Velvet Underground. The production team of the upcoming biopic had begun their search for the perfect Candy Darling back in 2019, but since discovering Hari Nef, they are moving forward with the production after three years of waiting.

Nef writes that taking on this role had always been a dream of hers, further going on to say that actually landing the role was a “pipe dream so specific it felt silly to speak out loud.” Her role focuses on Darling’s rise to stardom, beginning with her childhood experience in Long Island beauty pageantry and ending with her leading roles in Warhol’s productions.

In an Instagram post, Nef speaks to her true dedication to fulfilling this role in Darling’s honor, stating that “(Darling) burned fast and bright. more than anything, she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. she taught girls like me how to dream—perhaps even how to be at all. i have a drawing from her diary tattooed on my arm. it’s the honor of my life to get the chance to play her on the screen, where she remains.”

Nef has taken to consulting Darling’s friends, as well as taking a deep dive into her own experiences, in order to truly channel the late superstar. Nef is not new to the silver screen either, with upcoming presence in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie along with roles in The Idol and Assasination Nation from Sam Levinson, Amazon’s Transparent and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and HBO Max’s And Just Like That. 

Christian D. Bruun, Louis Spiegler, and Katrina Wolfe are producing alongside executive producer, Zackary Drucker (Transparent, Lady and the Dale), and the team is still searching for a director. The team is elated with Nef’s addition to the cast and is looking with confidence toward the future production of the film.

Photo courtesy of Hari Nef on Instagram