Mike Epps plays comic; Oprah Winfrey his gran

Comedian Mike Epps has been cast as Richard Pryor in the upcoming biopic of the comic legend – with Oprah Winfrey playing his grandmother.

After much speculation about who would take the lead, director Lee Daniels  confirmed the news on Twitter yesterday.

Meanwhile 60-year-old Winfrey will play Marie Carter, the brothel-owner who raised Pryor in Peoria, Illinois, after his mother, a prostitute, abandoned him. She previously worked with Daniels on is 2013 film The Butler, set in the White House and spanning presidencies.

Epps has said of Pryor: 'I love him to death. The master. He’s a wizard. He’s a wizard of comedy. So everybody’s got to bow down to him.'

There has been news on who will portray the comedian's widow Jennifer, who is also producing the film. She all rights to her late husband's material and recordings.

Epps – who previously played Pryor in an unreleased 2013 biopic of Nina Simone – posted a picture of himself with Jennifer:

Had to kiss the ring of @jennferLpryor for the blessing !you got to be stong to have been with the king! pic.twitter.com/OxvbjvPqHc

— Mike Epps (@TheRealMikeEpps) August 24, 2014

However Pryor's daughter Rain, also a comedian, has expressed her anger at the forthcoming film. She posted on Facebook: 'As soon as you allow outsiders to dictate to the world who your father was and the women who raised him; you have allowed them to betray your ancestor. I won’t stand by and allow this.'

Published: 27 Aug 2014