Anne Hathaway‘s next project away from the screen has landed a genuine coup: David Oyelowo, the actor behind Selma’s Martin Luther King Jr., has joined the cast of Little Five, a cycling drama produced by Hathaway’s own Somewhere Pictures. It’s Hathaway’s latest move building out her production slate following her starring role in The Odyssey.
Here’s what Little Five is about, who’s involved, and what Oyelowo’s casting signals for the project.
What Is Little Five About?
The film draws inspiration from the real Little 500 cycling race at Indiana University, following a determined group of young women who challenge tradition, forge an unlikely team, and redefine what’s possible through resilience, friendship, and grit. Built around a real, decades-old collegiate cycling event rather than an entirely fictional sport, the story gives the film a grounded, specific setting that distinguishes it from more generic underdog sports dramas.
David Oyelowo’s Role
Oyelowo plays Randall, a former cycling champion whose own dreams were cut short, who becomes an unlikely mentor to the film’s young team. That role gives Oyelowo a chance to explore themes of unfinished ambition and mentorship, forcing his character to confront his own incomplete journey while helping shape a new generation of athletes. He joins previously announced cast members Ariana Greenblatt and Rain Spencer in the ensemble.
Anne Hathaway’s Producing Role
Rather than starring in Little Five herself, Hathaway is producing through Somewhere Pictures alongside her husband Adam Shulman and Johnathan Rice, with Zachary Spicer producing for co-production company Pigasus Pictures. That producer-only involvement continues a pattern of Hathaway building out a production career alongside her acting work, using her own company to back smaller, character-driven stories rather than only appearing in front of the camera on major studio releases.
Behind the Camera
Ian Samuels directs Little Five from a screenplay by Gillian Williams and Paul Shoulberg. Samuels’ involvement points to a character-focused approach to the material, prioritizing the ensemble’s relationships and personal stakes over pure sports-movie spectacle, a tonal choice that lines up closely with the kind of grounded, resilience-driven storytelling the project’s real-world cycling race backdrop invites.
Why This Casting Matters
Landing an actor with Oyelowo’s profile for a supporting mentor role in an indie sports drama is a notable get for a smaller production, signaling that Little Five is being treated as a genuinely prestige-adjacent project rather than a straightforward genre entry. For Hathaway’s Somewhere Pictures, a cast anchored by Oyelowo alongside rising talents like Greenblatt and Spencer gives the production real credibility heading into whatever comes next in its development.
What Comes Next
With its core cast now largely in place and production reportedly moving forward, Little Five adds to a growing slate of projects from Hathaway’s production company, continuing her expansion into producing distinct, character-driven stories beyond the major studio films that have defined much of her acting career. No release date has been confirmed yet as the project continues moving through production.
Somewhere Pictures’ Growing Slate
Hathaway launched Somewhere Pictures as a vehicle for developing projects she believes in beyond whatever roles come her way as an actress, and Little Five fits a pattern of the company backing smaller, character-first stories rather than chasing franchise-scale material. Pairing her own producing company with a co-production partner like Pigasus Pictures also spreads out the financing and logistical load, a common approach for mid-budget dramas that rely on a strong ensemble rather than a single marquee star to carry the film.
Oyelowo’s Recent Run of Supporting Roles
Since his breakout as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Oyelowo has built a career mixing leading parts with well-chosen supporting turns, often gravitating toward roles built around mentorship, moral complexity, or quiet authority. Randall’s arc in Little Five, a former champion confronting his own unfinished ambitions while guiding a new generation, reads as a natural extension of the kind of grounded, emotionally weighty supporting work Oyelowo has favored in recent years, rather than a departure from it.
Why Sports Dramas Keep Drawing Prestige Casts
Little Five joins a long line of underdog sports dramas that lean on a grounded, real-world setting to earn attention from actors who might otherwise pass on genre material, and Indiana University’s actual Little 500 race gives the project exactly that kind of authenticity. Stories built around real institutions and real competitions tend to offer performers a specific, well-defined world to inhabit rather than an invented sport, which likely factored into both Oyelowo’s decision to join and Hathaway’s choice to back the project through Somewhere Pictures in the first place.
FAQ: Anne Hathaway’s Little Five
What role does David Oyelowo play in Little Five?
Oyelowo plays Randall, a former cycling champion who becomes a mentor to the film’s young team.
Is Anne Hathaway acting in Little Five?
No, Hathaway is producing the film through her company Somewhere Pictures rather than starring in it.
What is Little Five about?
The film is inspired by the real Little 500 cycling race at Indiana University, following a group of young women who form an unlikely cycling team.
For more on Anne Hathaway’s recent work, see our coverage of The Odyssey’s box office run and Universal’s response to The Odyssey’s piracy leak.
More on David Oyelowo is available on Wikipedia.
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