Michael K. Williams, who may be best known for his role as Chalky White in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, may be joining the cast of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. The actor was talking to Shadow&Act when he revealed that he narrowly lost the lead role to Jamie Foxx and that he may still appear in the picture.
“The rumors of me being considered for the lead role in Django [Unchained] is very true. I was in meetings with Quentin, QT as I call him. It came down to Jamie and I. Wow… what a person to lose to. It’s not official yet but there’s a lot of talk that there may be a role coming back ‘round my way.”
When he was asked to elaborate, Williams went on to say:
“Yes another role in the film. It’s not official yet but there’s a chance. His people and my people have been in discussions in regards to a role that he is creating for me.”
This is an interesting piece of information as there are no other substantial black roles in the film, other than Stephan which will be played by Samuel L. Jackson. A point made by The Playlist is that Tarantino could be extending the role of Bartholomew, the silent bodyguard for Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Calvin Candie. Knowing the role, there is definitely room to expand it, and I would not be surprised if The Playlist have nailed it on the head with this one.
This piece of news creates a level of disappointment for me though. I am just recently a huge fan of Williams from his amazing work on Boardwalk Empire and in my opion he would have made a fantastic Django. I’m am not a huge fan of Foxx for the role, though I do believe he is a far better option Will Smith.
From the script though I completly understand why Foxx was cast. The role of Django, though the lead, for the majority of the script, slips behind the amazing dialogue, wit and smarts of the Christoph Waltz character Dr. King Shultz. I believe Tarantino did need a big name actor cast as Django so the role did not go by the way side, without much notice, for the majority of the film. However, physically and on the merit of screen presence, Foxx would not be my choice.
Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Gerald McRaney and is planned to begin filming next January in New Orleans, after Leonardo DiCaprio wraps The Great Gatsby in Australia.