Last Meals | Ramin Bahrani

[Cremildo]

Mads Mikkelsen is set to play a death row chef alongside Boyd Holbrook in “Last Meals,” which Oscar-nominee Ramin Bahrani (“The White Tiger,” “99 Homes”) is now set to direct.

The prison drama — set to start principal photography in Ireland later this year — comes from the AMPAS Nicholl Award-winning screenplay by Justin Piasecki (“Relay”) in a story exploring the ideas of guilt, the death penalty, and redemption, all through the lens of food of the highest order, and the world’s most infamous meal: the Ortolan.

“Last Meals” will see Palme d’Or winner Mikkelsen (“Another Round,” “Casino Royale, “The Hunt”) play Walter Karat, a former White House Chef whose fall from grace lands him in the kitchen of a maximum security prison cooking for death row inmates. Boyd Holbrook (“A Complete Unknown,” “Logan,” “The Bikeriders”) will play Jeffrey Reed, a death row inmate who decides to go on a hunger strike and whose constant rejection of his meals frustrates him at every turn. Their animosity reaches a boiling point until Walter confronts Reed, triggering an unexpected deeper connection — Walter starts to believe Reed is innocent. As the two bond, Walter is determined to find out the truth. +