Tony Winner Nina Arianda on Her Plan to 'Do Janis Justice' in Upcoming Bio Movie Joplin

Fresh off scoring a Tony Award for the sexy comedy Venus in Fur, Nina Arianda is heading to the big screen to play rock icon Janis Joplin in the upcoming bio film Joplin.

“I was in complete disbelief and shock and was filled with a lot of gratitude,” Arianda recently told Broadway.com of her reaction when she learned she’d been cast as the soulful singer. “I certainly grew up listening to her music and idolizing her musical spirit,” she said about Joplin, who died at age 27 in 1970. "I’m still kind of in shock, but in a wonderful way.”

Arianda is set to record her own renditions of Joplin’s hits for the film. So, does she have a favorite song she’s most excited to tackle? “How do you pick? I don’t even know!” she said with a laugh. “‘Me and Bobby McGee,’ ‘Down on Me,’ ‘Piece of My Heart,’ ‘Mercedez Benz’…anything they’ll ask me to do, I will try to do my best.”

Despite beating out many high profile actresses (Zooey Deschanel, Renee Zellweger, Amy Adams and more had been rumored to play Joplin on screen over the years) Arianda isn’t nervous about headlining the bio pic. “There are ways of approaching any kind of work without having to feel any pressure,” she said. "With this case I think what’s most important is to do Janis justice. It’s not about me."

Joplin will be directed by Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and is expected to begin production in 2013.