Dylan Baker

Dylan Baker

Dylan Baker has joined the cast of 'Selma' about iconic civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and will star as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

Baker will star as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in the upcoming film about 1960s civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., according to Deadline.com.

Hoover was one of King's most vigorous government adversaries who, under the direction of Attorney General Robert Kennedy, carried out extensive investigations into King and his followers, including wiretapping and heavy surveillance.

Baker will join 'The Butler' actor David Oyelowo, who will star as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B Johnson and Tim Roth as Alabama governor George Wallace in the Oprah Winfrey-produced and Ava DuVernay-directed film.

Winfrey will produce with Brad Pitt, through his Plan B Productions company and the organisation's executives, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner.

Pathe, who produced 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom', will also have a hand in the production.

The film tells the story of a group of black marchers who attempt to walk from Selma, Alabama, to nearby Montgomery in order to gain the right to vote in 1965. However, the protesters find themselves in the crosshairs of the police.

Baker has had a number of TV roles in series including 'The Good Wife', 'Chicago Fire' and 'Chicago PD'.