Tiffany Haddish isn’t interested in imposter syndrome.
She speaks with the conviction of someone who has already imagined and acquired every room she steps into. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, those rooms will be dotting the Croisette, where she arrives with two character-driven thrillers on Highland Film Group’s sales calendar that make a poignant case that her dramatic range has long been undervalued.
In Matt Thacker’s The Deputy, Haddish plays Amanda Jackson, an honest official in charge of a deeply corrupt Mississippi town. The action thriller, written by Narcos and Griselda co-creator Carlo Bernard and based on the novel by Victor Gischler, was filmed in Mississippi in May 2025.
The ensemble cast includes Duke Nicholson (Jack Nicholson’s grandson), William H. Macy, Stephen Dorff, and Julia Fox. Haddish will also serve as executive producer.
Her second project, “The Girl in the River,” is similarly rooted in Mississippi, with production beginning in August 2025 in Canton, Jackson, and Vicksburg. Directed by Brando Benetton, she stars alongside Ralph Macchio, Devon Sawa, and Maggie Grace in the story of a veteran criminologist and a young psychologist who are drawn into a frontier town to investigate the murder of a young girl and the disappearance of her twin sister.
Both films lean into darker, procedural territory, but that wasn’t necessarily by design.
“I’m not trying to interfere with law enforcement,” she quips.
Still, Haddish is clear about her dramatic instincts.
“I know I’m really good at drama,” she told Variety magazine, adding that she’s firmly in control of her abilities. While comedy remains her calling card, she says dramatic work is emotionally demanding in a different way: less escapism, more exposure.
For Haddish, a former foster child who spent years navigating the court system, the subject matter often hits closer to home than viewers realize.
“I belonged in California,” she says, recalling a childhood shaped by judges and caseworkers. “I know how to play those guys. They’ve come into my world.”
In today’s market, both films continue to appeal to international buyers in a line that is becoming increasingly rare domestically: mid-budget adult thrillers.
“Audiences want authentic storytelling,” Haddish says. But she also acknowledges the nervousness of the moment. “We live in a psychological thriller. And we’d rather watch a psychological thriller.”
At one point in the interview, she shifted from humor to emotion and began to visibly tear up as she reflected on how her personal history has shaped her work.
“A journey without drama is no journey at all,” she says. “I’m glad I hit the speed bump.”
This is a philosophy that doubles as a quiet pitch to studios. Haddish’s comedic identity isn’t going anywhere, but her dramatic work is beginning to match the material it’s built to cater to.
Before the conversation ends, she suggests one more ambition. It is conveyed with her signature combination of sincerity and playfulness. She hopes to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a swimsuit model before she turns 50 in four years. She then set another goal: the presidency.
“The bar has been lowered considerably, so I believe I can do it.”
Punch line (almost).
