NEW YORK (AP) — Samuel L. Jackson will make his Broadway debut this fall as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Producers of “The Mountaintop” said Thursday that the Academy Award-nominated actor will star in the play that reimagines the night before the civil rights leader’s assassination.

The play, by Katori Hall, made its debut in London in 2009. It had been rumored that Halle Berry would join Jackson but producers said “child custody issues” ruled her out.

Performances on Broadway will begin Sept. 22 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on 45th Street. The official opening is set for Oct. 13.

Jackson, known for films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Snakes on a Plane,” originated roles in two of August Wilson’s plays at Yale Repertory Theatre and appeared at the New York Shakespeare Festival.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.