Lee Daniels has already managed to get quite a few big names to sign on for his next project, The Butler. Whille the production did recently lose Matthew McConaughey, who was going to play President John F. Kennedy, the impressive lineup includes Alex Pettyfer, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, David Oyelowo, Minka Kelly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz and Terrence Howard. Apparently Daniels plans don't end there, however, as he has made yet another impressive casting acquisition.
According to Variety, Robin Williams has signed on to play President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the film. The movie is based on the true story of Eugene Allen, a black man who worked as a White House servant through eight presidencies. Whitaker will play Allen in the movie while Winfrey and Oyelowo will be his wife and son. Danny Strong, who Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans might remember as Jonathan, wrote the script with Daniels and production is gearing up to start soon.
But that's not the only casting news for Williams today. The comedian has also signed on for the indie film The Angriest Man in Brooklyn. The film is about a stand-in doctor (Mila Kunis) who tells an annoying patient (Williams) that he only has 90 minutes to live. After he escapes the hospital to try and right all of the wrongs in his life, the doctor is forced to go chasing after him. In addtion to Kunis and Williams the film will also star Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo and James Earl Jones. The script was written by Daniel Taplitz and Phil Alden Robinson will direct.
