Eddie Murphy to Play Richard Pryor’s Father in Lee Daniels’ Biopic

These was a time when Eddie Murphy could have played Richard Pryor in a movie. But now, he has reportedly been cast as Pryor’s father in an upcoming biopic from director Lee Daniels.

If everything goes as planned, the role could possibly give Murphy his second chance at an Academy Award after he lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Little Miss Sunshine’s Alan Arkin in 2007. We can expect the performance to be on the serious side, because, as we all learned from SNL40, Murphy is not particularly interested in being funny anymore.

Daniels hinted at the news on his Instagram account Thursday:

Strap in and brace yourself. They done let me and him out of our cages! #idonteventhinkimreadyforthisone! #excited #proud #OMG

A photo posted by Lee Daniels (@theoriginalbigdaddy) on Mar 12, 2015 at 3:17pm PDT

Previously, Daniels used his Instagram to announce that Oprah Winfrey had been cast in the still-untitled film as Pryor’s grandmother, joining Mike Epps, who will take on the starring role. Kate Hudson is on board to play Pryor’s wife, Jennifer Pryor.

[Photo via screengrab]

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