Black Voices has learned that Academy Award-nominated British actress Marianne Jean-Baptise has been cast to play an assassin in Geoffrey Fletcher's directorial debut, 'Violet and Daisy.'

The film stars Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel in a story of two teenage assassins who are lured into what is supposed to be just another quick and easy job, only to find complications as the man (played by James Gandolfini) they're supposed to kill is not what they expected.

In speaking with Black Voices at a recent event, Fletcher, who also wrote the film, says, "Marianne plays a character named Number 1, this other worldly shape-shifting assassin, and she's remarkable. I just shot some scenes with her last week and she's amazing. In working with James, he's such a focused and hardworking actor and does his homework. I think he's one of the best actors today."

Fletcher won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on 'Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire,' directed by Lee Daniels.

Jean-Baptise was last seen on the big screen opposite Idris Elba in the action heist film, 'Takers,' which was produced by Rainforest Films' Will Packer. This past summer Baptiste was New York City as she starred with Al Pacino and Jesse Martin on stage in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice.'

In 1996, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Mike Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies,' becoming the first black British actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. She followed her success with seven seasons spent playing FBI agent Vivian Johnson on the CBS drama 'Without A Trace' from 2002-2009.

The film is currently filming in New York.