Jim Sturgess Says His Pirate Movie ‘The Lion’s Share’ With Djimon Hounsou Will Be From Somali Point Of View

It won’t be the first film about the Somali pirates to come out, but it might be the only one that claims to be told from the pirates’ perspective. In an interview with THR, Jim Sturgess confirmed his role in “The Lion’s Share,” an indie to be directed by Nathan Morlando (“Citizen Gangster”), and while the foundation of his part in the film is innocent enough — “I play a journalist who basically goes to try and uncover that story and that world” — it tackles the issue from an unexpected angle.

“[It’s] set in Africa, based on the point of view of the Somali pirates,” the actor explained. “I was really blown away when I read the script. It really gives a voice and a perspective to a big problem. But you see the origins and foundation of where the problem came from. And, of course, it comes out of desperation and the situation they’re in. It gives them a definite voice. Sometimes you read a script and you just think, ‘Wow, I would love to go and tell that story, and I don’t even care what happens to the film, I would just love that experience.’ And often that mentality makes a great film. So, go to Africa and spend some time there is something I’d kill to do anyway.”

Clearly, Sturgess is excited for the part and the opportunity it brings, but he won’t be the only one getting wet. Competing Somali pirate projects include “Captain Phillips” starring Tom Hanks as the real-life Captain Richard Phillips, who turned himself over to the pirates to save his crew, which comes out in October, as well as in-development project “High Value Target,” an action thriller about a special ops unit attack on a pirate ship.

Sturgess seems like a solid actor who has been trapped in some mediocre fare as of late, including sci-fi allegory “Upside Down,” which hits theaters this week — you can read our review here. But with by Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond”) by his side, we’re thinking this could be good, even if it does use the journalist-travels-to-third-world formula. We’ll definitely be keeping our eye on this one.