Ruben Santiago-Hudson is preparing for a new Life…

The 59-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of HBO Films’ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, starring Oprah Winfrey. 

The telepic tells the true story of Henrietta Lacks (Renée Elise Goldsberry), an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks (Winfrey), the film chronicles her search to learn about the mother she never knew and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks’ cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever.

It’s a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest of people.

Santiago-Hudson will portray Dr. Pattillo, a doctor and professor of gynecology who facilitated Rebecca’s (Rose Byrne) communication with the Lacks family.

George C. Wolfe is writer-director of Harpo Films’ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which is exec produced by Winfrey.