Lee Daniels’ The Butler will chronicle the life of Eugene Allen, a butler who worked at the White House from 1952 to 1986. That means that several actors will be stepping into presidential shoes. It has just been announced that Robin Williams will be one of those actors.
Williams will play President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the new film.
Williams joins a cast that is already full of big names. John Cusack will be playing Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman will be playing Ronald Reagan, and James Marsden will be playing JFK. Lyndon Johnson will also appear in the movie but he hasn’t been cast yet. According to IMDB, Liam Neeson is rumored for the role.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that the film also stars Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr, Lenny Kravitz, Terrence Howard, and Minka Kelly.
The film will cover Eugene Allen’s 34-years in the White House so it isn’t clear how big Robin Williams’ role will be.
The movie is set to start shooting in a few weeks down in New Orleans.
Williams has also been cast as Phil Alden Robinson’s new movie The Angriest Man In Brooklyn .
Williams has been taking it easy the last few years. His last live action movie, Old Dogs, was in 2009. He did some voice work for Happy Feet 2 in 2011 and recently appeared in the FX show Wilfred.
But Williams has a few movies coming up. In addition to The Butler and The Angriest Man In Brooklyn, Williams is also set to star in Look of Love and The Big Wedding.
