Tiffany Haddish Debuts Two Thrillers at Cannes
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- Tiffany Haddish debuts "The Deputy" and "The Girl in the River" at Cannes on Highland Film Group's sales slate — both character-driven, Mississippi-set procedural thrillers.
- "The Deputy" is an action thriller written by "Narcos"/"Griselda" co-creator Carlo Bernard, adapted from Victor Gischler's novel, shot in Mississippi in May 2025, with Haddish as star and executive producer alongside Duke Nicholson, William H. Macy, Stephen Dorff, and Julia Fox.
- "The Girl in the River" was directed by Brando Benetton and filmed in Canton, Jackson, and Vicksburg in August 2025, with Haddish starring opposite Ralph Macchio, Devon Sawa, and Maggie Grace in a story about a criminologist and psychologist investigating a child's murder and her twin's disappearance.
- Haddish credited her childhood in California's foster care and court system for her ability to play institutional roles, telling Variety: "I know how to play those people. They've been in my world."
- Haddish brushed off the assumption she chose the procedurals intentionally — "I'm not trying to go into law enforcement" — while asserting, "I know that I'm really good at that drama stuff."
- Both films occupy a mid-budget, adult-skewing thriller lane that has become "increasingly rare domestically" but continues to attract international buyers.
- Haddish floated ambitions to land a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover before turning 50 in four years and to eventually run for president, joking that "that bar has been lowered so much that I believe I can do it."
Why it matters: Haddish is using Cannes — a prestige platform — to reframe her career from comedy headliner to dramatic actor, and the two self-produced, Mississippi-set procedurals target a mid-budget adult thriller market that has thinned domestically but still draws international buyers, giving her a credible path to dramatic credibility beyond her comedy brand.
