Entertainment Tonight reports that Eddie Murphy is in talks for a role in Precious director Lee Daniels’ upcoming Richard Pryor biopic. Murphy has remained interested in the movie for several years now and was linked to a previous iteration of the project with Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters) attached to direct.
Should he commit to Daniels’ version, he will play Pryor’s father LeRoy “Buck Carter” Pryor. Mike Epps, who was at one stage attached to that earlier version, is still on board for the lead role, and Kate Hudson will play Pryor’s wife Jennifer Pryor, who is also a producer on the film.
Many are hopeful that this project could mark Murphy’s return to ‘serious’ fare. The comedian landed a ton of critical acclaim for his last major acting performance in the 2006 musical drama Dreamgirls. Director Condon led him to an Oscar nomination for that role and that’s also when the duo started development on their original Pryor movie. After that led nowhere, Murphy’s profile has dipped below the radar again, with the actor choosing to tackle lesser fare.
If this rumor does lead to an official announcement confirming his involvement, Murphy will triumph over the many, many actors linked to the role over the past decade. Damon Wayans, Chris Rock, Marlon Wayans and both Murphy and Epps were in contention to lead a variety of iterations, one of which had Walter Hill in the director’s chair.
Adding further fuel to the fire, Daniels took to Instagram yesterday and posted a snap of himself with Murphy. Does this mean that he’s found the man to play the family patriarch for his untitled Richard Pryor biopic? Stay tuned, folks.
