*The search is officially over for someone to play Richard Pryor in Lee Daniels’ upcoming biopic on the late comic icon.
Interrobang reports that Mike Epps has been chosen to play Pryor. The funnyman beat out a talented roster of contenders that included Michael B. Jordan, Marlon Wayans and Nick Cannon.
News of Epps’ selection was first revealed on Oprah Winfrey’s Instagram account (see it below) when the former talk show queen posted a photo of herself, Epps and Daniels together, saying – “just finished a great 1st read session. #RichardPryorMovie”.
Daniels retweeted the photo as he confirmed Epps’ casting, which ends a long journey for Epps’ in his quest to play Pryor. The entertainer became the frontrunner to play Pryor after he reportedly made a solid impression with a killer screen test.
In 2005, Epps was chosen to portray the legendary comic in a Walter Hill-directed biopic that ultimately fell through.
Although he received congratulations from Winfrey and Daniels, the most surprising accolade was received from Kevin Hart. The “Let Me Explain” joke teller has had a less than friendly relationship with Epps, which resulted in the pair tweeting their opinions of the other on Twitter after Epps called Hart “one overrated comedian” during a radio interview.
Name-calling came next as Epps called Hart “D.L. Hughley Jr.” Hart responded to the dis by tweeting that Epps should kill himself.
Nevertheless, Hart acknowledged Epps’ achievement in a series of tweets that congratulated Epps and mentioned that despite their differences, he was proud of and happy for his rival.
