Forest Whitaker was offered the chance to play President Barack Obama in film, but he turned down the opportunity.
During to a recent interview with The Independent, The Butler star said he didn’t feel comfortable playing American’s first Black president because there were “better suited” candidates.
“I was asked if I would play President Obama in [2010’s] My Name is Khan,” the 52-year-old filmmaker said. “I didn’t feel comfortable with doing it. Partly because he was still in office, but mainly because I felt that there were other people who were better suited to doing the role.”
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Whitaker suggested for Will Smith to play the part, but it went to Christopher B. Duncan, best known as Braxton on “The Jamie Foxx Show.”
The Academy Award winner may have passed up the opportunity, but Obama is still a fan of his work. During a August interview, the Preident said Whitaker’s performance as Cecil Gaines in Lee Daniels’ The Butler made him cry.
“I teared up thinking about not just the butlers who worked here in the White House, but an entire generation of people who were talented and skilled. But because of Jim Crow and because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go,” Obama said. “And yet with dignity and tenacity, they got up and worked every single day and put up with a whole lot of mess because they hoped for something better for their kids.”
Who do you think would be the best actor to take on our Commander In Chief in a further biopic? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
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