Having made her impressive acting début in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 tragic African-American tale, THE COLOR PURPLE, chat show host and all-American heroine Oprah Winfrey has only a handful of acting credits to her name. She may have lent her voice to a number of animated movies over recent years (CHARLOTTE’S WEB, BEE MOVIE, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG), but her last on-screen performance was 1998’s BELOVED.
Now PRECIOUS director Lee Daniels is hoping to tempt Winfrey back into acting with a role in his next feature, THE BUTLER (Winfrey actually served as a producer on PRECIOUS). The film will be based on the Washington Post article A Butler Well Served by This Election and will tell the true story of Eugene Allen, a White House servant who served through eight Presidents.
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES’ David Owelowo is expected to take the role of Allen, with Winfrey wanted for the role of his wife. Mila Kunis and John Cusack are rumoured to be lined up for the supporting roles of Jackie and John Kennedy. Both Owelowo and Cusack have just completed work on Daniels’ death row-thriller THE PAPERBOY.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
