Dylan Baker has joined the growing cast of Paramount Pictures' Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma, portraying FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.

Under the direction of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover carried out extensive investigations on Martin Luther King Jr., including wiretapping and other surveillance techniques. J. Edgar Hoover was considered to be one of the Civil Rights leader's biggest government adversaries.

The story centers on Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his historic march from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol in Montgomery in 1964. The march was met by heavy opposition by Alabama governor George Wallace (Tim Roth), who ordered state troopers to severely beat the first wave of marchers, which lead to nationwide protests and, ultimately, to president Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Carmen Ejogo, Andre Holland, Omar J. Dorsey, Tessa Thompson and Colman Domingo round out the supporting cast.

Ava DuVernay is directing from a screenplay she co-wrote with Paul Webb, with Plan B's Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner producing with Ava DuVernay, Christian Colson and Oprah Winfrey. Production is currently under way in Atlanta.

Dylan Baker is perhaps best known for playing Dr. Curt Connors in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, and he most recently starred in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.