The Richard Pryor biopic has finally found its leading man, and chosen a surprising pick for the comedian's abusive grandmother.
Mike Epps will play the prolific comedian Pryor and Oprah Winfrey will play his abusive grandmother who raised him in her brothel, according to TMZ. Lee Daniels will direct the biographical film and confirmed Epps' casting on his Twitter.
"Get ready y'all - #MikeEpps as #RichardPryor," Daniels tweeted on Aug. 24 with a photo of him, Winfrey and Epps.
Prior to his death in 2005, Pryor had chosen Epps to play him in an earlier version of the film, according to Deadline. Pryor and his wife Jennifer Lee Pryor were set to produce the movie through their production company Indigo Productions.
"I met Richard and felt like I was in Oz the whole time," Epps told Deadline. "It's hard to describe what he means to me or any stand-up comic. You could say he's paid the dues for everything we do up there."
Jennifer again has given her blessing to Epps and has provided the production with pages of Pryor's old journals, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Epps tweeted a photo of him kissing her ring with the caption, "Had to kiss the ring of @jennferLpryor for the blessing! you got to be stong to have been with the king!"
Later, Marlon Wayans was named as Pryor for a production through Sony, according to Deadline. Bill Condon was set to direct with Adam Sandler's Happy Madison producing. Eddie Murphy and Michael B. Jordan were also in the mix to play the prolific comedian.
Winfrey worked with Daniels in his last project "Lee Daniels' The Butler." She played the wife of Forest Whitaker's White House butler. She posted another photo of herself, Daniels and Epps after their first read-through for the movie.
"@theoriginalbigdaddy , @eppsie, and me just finished a great 1st read session. #RichardPryorMovie," Winfrey captioned the picture.
Pryor's grandmother Marie Carter ran a brothel and practiced prostitution. She primarily raised her grandson and violently beat him growing up. Winfrey wanted the role of Carter to show of her "gritty side," sources told TMZ.
