‘Star Trek: Discovery’s Anthony Rapp Joins Vivian Kerr In ‘Scrap’

EXCLUSIVE: The production company Elegant Grotesque announced today that Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp has signed on to star alongside Vivian Kerr in Scrap, which she also wrote and produced.

An adaptation of the short film of the short by the same name written by Kerr and directed by Leena Pendharkar, the film follows a young single-mom, Beth (Kerr), who is newly homeless. Laid off from her white-collar job, Beth struggles to maintain the appearance of a successful middle-class lifestyle as she bounces around the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Hoping to land a new job and change her situation before her family and friends find out, Beth dodges phone calls from her estranged older brother Ben (Rapp) and struggles with the guilt of having left her young daughter Birdy in his care. Unable to face her own failure, Beth must deal with the very real dangers of living out of her car and confront her own pride before she can reconnect with her brother and provide for her daughter.

“I wrote Scrap because I wanted to explore the issue of homelessness from a middle-class perspective, and how the shame of being housing insecure affects family relationships,” said Kerr. “Los Angeles has over 50,000 people without housing, a figure that represents a 75% increase in the last six years. There’s a lot of people who are one or two paychecks away from eviction and this film is about what could happen to any of us, and how far we would go to hide the fact from the people who love us the most. I’m excited to explore this complex brother-sister dynamic with Anthony, and shine a spotlight on this issue.”

Kerr and Rapp also starred in the short which recently premiered at the FirstGlance Film Festival and will screen at the upcoming Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Rapp originated the role of Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking musical Rent and reprised his role in the 2005 film adaptation as well as the Broadway tour in 2009. He currently stars as Lt. Paul Stamets in CBS All Access’s Star Trek: Discovery and appeared in 13 Reasons Why, The Knick and The Good Fight.

Kerr has appeared in Rizzoli & Isles, New Girl, Criminal Minds, Masters of Sex, Castle and Grey’s Anatomy. On the film side, she has appeared in the horror thriller The Den, the comedy short The Assistant and Lines, which she wrote and produced.

Kerr produces Scrap alongside Sapna Gandhi. Production is planned to take place later this year.

Rapp is repped by Untitled Entertainment and Paradigm Talent Agency. Kerr is represented by Authentic Talent and Literary Management.