Hidden Figures is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by Theodore Melfi, and written by Melfi and Allison Schroeder, who adapted the screenplay from the non-fiction book Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly. The film's plot focuses on female African-American mathematicians at NASA, specifically Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson), who calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon, Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and engineer Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe). Kevin Costner plays the supporting role of Al Harrison and Jim Parsons plays the role of Paul Stafford. 20th Century Fox gave the film a limited release from December 25, 2016, before a wide release on January 6, 2017.