Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.
The Butler
“One quiet voice can ignite a revolution.”
Overview
Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.
Director
Lee Daniels
Budget
25.0M
Revenue
177.3M
Status
Released
Production
Follow Through Productions, Salamander Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Pam Williams Productions, Windy Hill Pictures
Cast
Forest Whitaker
Cecil Gaines
Oprah Winfrey
Gloria Gaines
David Oyelowo
Louis Gaines
John Cusack
Richard Nixon
Jane Fonda
Nancy Reagan
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Carter Wilson
Mariah Carey
Hattie Pearl
Terrence Howard
Howard
Lenny Kravitz
James Holloway
Aml Ameen
Cecil Gaines (15)
Michael Rainey Jr.
Cecil Gaines (8)
James Marsden
John F. Kennedy
Alex Pettyfer
Thomas Westfall
Vanessa Redgrave
Annabeth Westfall
Alan Rickman
Ronald Reagan
Liev Schreiber
Lyndon B. Johnson
Robin Williams
Dwight Eisenhower
Yaya DaCosta
Carol Hammie
David Banner
Earl Gaines
Colman Domingo
Freddie Fallows
Nelsan Ellis
Martin Luther King Jr.
Nealla Gordon
Senator Kassebaum
Elijah Kelley
Charlie Gaines (15-18)
Minka Kelly
Jackie Kennedy
Adriane Lenox
Gina
Mo McRae
Eldridge Huggins
Pernell Walker
Lorraine
Jesse Williams
Rev. James Lawson
Clarence Williams III
Maynard
LaJessie Smith
Abraham
John P. Fertitta
Mr. Jenkins
Jim Gleason
R.D. Warner
Isaac White
Charlie Gaines (10)
Joe Chrest
White Usher
Tyson Ford
Elroy
James DuMont
Sherman Adams
Robert Aberdeen
Herbert Brownell
Olivia Washington
Olivia
Margaret M. Owens
Woolworth Diner Patron #1
Eric Ducote
Woolworth Diner Patron #2
Chloe Barach
Caroline Kennedy
Danny Strong
Freedom Bus Journalist
Clara Hopkins Daniels
Freedom Bus Rider
Dana Gourrier
Helen Holloway
Shirley Pugh
Malcolm X Goer
Bill Newman
Pastor
Colin Walker
John Ehrlichman
Alex Manette
Bob Haldeman
Rusty Robertson
Senator Robertson
Stephen Rider
Admiral Rochon
Sam Malone
Young Abraham (uncredited)
Tarra Riggs
Sophie Wilson (uncredited)
Xosha Roquemore
Foxy (uncredited)
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