Cynthio Erivo is proving her acting metal with the release of her first major worldwide flick as a leading actress.
The singer and performer has stepped-in the shoes of a pivotal historic figure – Harriet Tubman, in the biopic released this past weekend.
And while we’re all appreciating her breakthrough performance in the poignant tale, you’ll be in for a surprise with a little titbit about the movie, from the time before it hit the shooting floor.
Harriet Tubman – an iconic figure in African-American culture, regarded as a pivotal slave-turned-abolitionist who not only escaped slavery, but helped some 70 people be rescued out of enslavement, was initially being considered to be played by a non-black actress.
New sources from the movie suggest the role was initially being considered for the very white – Julia Roberts.
Yep! You heard that right.
The film’s screenwriter and producer, Gregory Allen Howard, recently revealed that there were chances of the ‘Pretty Woman’ actress landing the role of the titular character in the biopic after one studio executive suggested her name.
Here is what ET quoted him as telling during a Q&A:
“I was told how one studio head said in a meeting, ‘This script is fantastic. Let’s get Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman. When someone pointed out that Roberts couldn’t be Harriet, the executive responded, ‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.’”
With Hollywood’s long history of miscasts – does it even surprise you anymore?