News

Was It A Good Choice To Cast Robin Williams To Play Dwight D. Eisenhower In 'The Butler?'

By Stan Castle | Published on July 19, 2012

Robin Williams will play President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Lee Daniels’ drama The Butler, a movie which will tell the story of Eugene Allen, a black butler who worked at the White House from 1952 to 1986, serving under eight presidents.

Williams joins an already impressive cast of actors which includes Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Terence Howard, Cuba Good Jr., Jane Fonda, Nicole Kidman, Lenny Kravitz, Colman Domingo and Jess Williams.

One has to ask though, is the comedic actor Williams the right person to play the former president? Many people may not think of Williams as such a serious man but may rather see him as his more comedic soft character Mrs. Doubtfire.

One of Williams’ most successful roles is when he played Mrs. Doubtfire in the movie of the same name. In that film, the actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend secret time with his children held in custody by his former wife. Mrs. Doubtfire, along with the actor, won many accolades and praises for the film that was deemed a comedy.

The actor has played in other serious movies before, such as when he played in film Good Will Hunting, but he very much claims to be a comedian, a genre which could be totally different from playing the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful state in the world. The audience will just have to be the judge, The Butler will start shooting later this month New Orleans.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way