According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thandie Newton has been cast opposite Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness for Columbia Pictures.

Written by Steve Conrad (The Weather Man), the drama centers on Chris Gardner (Smith), a sporadically employed salesman who wins custody of his young son just as he is about to begin a stock brokerage intern program. The father and son end up living in a homeless shelter.

Newton will play Linda, Smith's estranged wife and the mother of his son.