Robin De Jesús has nabbed his next role in the upcoming Hulu series, Immigrant. A talent on both stage and screen, De Jesús will be an excellent addition to the show’s ever-growing roster of star power.
Immigrant will center around the story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee (Kumail Nanjiani), an Indian man who packs up his life and moves to sunny California in hopes of striking it big in the business world. After owning a gas station, Banerjee sets his sights on a washed-up nightclub in Los Angeles’ West Hollywood. Sinking his resources into revamping the bar, Banerjee makes the decision to continue one of the previous owner’s theme nights as a way to bring in more regulars. Featuring an all-male revue, the once-a-week event proves to be by far the most profitable night for the budding entrepreneur. A light bulb soon goes off for Banerjee who, with the help of an unbelievable cast of characters, ends up turning the “Ladies Night” into the full-blown business dynasty that we now know as Chippendales. Throughout the series, we will see the rise of the adult entertainment juggernaut and It's hard to believe downfall that led to murderous consequences.
De Jesús will be stepping into the recurring role of Ray Colon. A Nuyorican who hails from the Bronx, Ray finds his calling with the Chippendales as a handyman. Quickly finding a mentor in Banerjee, Ray’s loyalty to his new boss will lead him to some tricky positions throughout the series.
Along with De Jesús, audiences can expect to see Dan Stevens, Murray Bartlett, Annaleigh Ashford, Quentin Plair, Andrew Rannells, and Nicola Peltz in the dark comedy. Pam & Tommy creator, Robert Siegel, created Immigrant and will executive produce with star Nanjiani, as well as Dylan Sellers, Jenni Konner, Matt Shakman, Emily V. Gordon, Nora Silver, and Rajiv Joseph. Siegel will also team up with Konner to act as co-showrunners with Mehar Sethi and Joseph writing. Shakman will direct. Jacqui Rivera will co-executive produce with Annie Wyman acting as co-producer.
Fresh off the massive success of Jonathan Larson’s musical turned film, tick, tick… BOOM! De Jesús is no stranger to being a part of mega-hit projects. Prior to his time with director Lin-Manuel Miranda on the set of tick, tick… BOOM! the pair worked together in 2008 on Manuel’s breakout musical hit, In the Heights. For his outstanding performance in the award favorite, De Jesús snagged a Tony Award nomination. Following In the Heights, the actor held several other prominent roles on stage before landing his third Tony nomination for 2019’s The Boys in the Band. Because of his incredible work in the play, it was a no-brainer for Ryan Murphy to bring De Jesús on board for the 2020 Netflix film adaptation.
With this latest casting announcement, we can’t wait to see who will be next to jump on stage and strut their stuff in Immigrant.