The White Lotus star Will Sharpe to direct ‘Crying in H Mart’ adaptation

Will Sharpe, who starred in the second season of White Lotus, has been tapped to direct the upcoming film adaptation of Crying in H Mart, Vulture reports.

Crying in H Mart is a memoir written by Michelle Zauner, the lead vocalist of indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. It focuses on Zauner’s relationship with her mother who passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer in 2014.

Sharpe has recently become popular due to his role as Ethan on The White Lotus. He has, however, been acting and directing for a long time. He served as actor, writer and director on the television show Flowers.

Sharpe has also been a long-time fan of Zauner and the memoir.

“I was a fan of Michelle’s music and found ‘Crying In H Mart’ to be a beautiful, relatable work of light handed honesty,” Sharpe said in a statement, according to NBC News.

Zauner also released a statement about her decision to work with Sharpe on the Japanese Breakfast Facebook page.

“It was a daunting task, to find someone I could trust with the retelling of such a personal story. Someone who could honor my mother’s character and respect the darkest days of grief, and still make the coming of age of a half Korean artsy outsider in a small Pacific Northwest hippie town seem real and cool,” Zauner wrote.

“In that spirit, I am so relieved to have found Will Sharpe and am beyond delighted that he will be the director of Crying in H Mart. I believe his sensitivity, as a director and an actor, and his own personal experience, having also grown up between two cultures, will be tremendous assets,” she added.