Terrence Howard on Playing Oprah’s Side Piece in ‘The Butler’

Terrence Howard and Oprah Winfrey in "The Butler"
Photo Courtesy of Eurweb.com

In October, Oprah Winfrey tweeted the above photo of herself and Terrence Howard from the set of their upcoming film “The Butler.”
 
“And THAT’s a Wrap! Terrence Howard and me in our goodbye ‘love scene’,” Winfrey wrote as a caption, providing no further details.

Howard, however, is now spilling the beans on how he ended up making out with O in the Lee Daniels-directed drama.

As previously reported, the film is based on the true story of White House butler Eugene Allen, who served eight Presidents until his retirement in 1986.
“I was supposed to play the butler, himself, initially,” Howard told us. “But when Oprah and I were paired against each other the age difference became palpable. So I championed Forest Whitaker to come and take that role.”

Whitaker indeed took over the fictionalized role of White House butler Cecil Gaines opposite Winfrey as his wife Gloria. Daniels ended up casting Howard in a smaller part.

“Lee said, ‘I really want you in this film, and the only character I have left is this little small character named Howard that’s having an affair with Oprah, but I don’t want to offend you offering [a smaller role] to you,’” Howard recalled of his conversation with Daniels.

Below, the actor reveals what Daniels said about the role that made him sign on.



“The Butler” is set to open later this year. A specific date has yet to be announced. Check out the all-star cast below.

Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines
Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines
Terrence Howard as Howard
Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Carter Wilson
Mariah Carey as Hattie Pearl
John Cusack as Richard Nixon
Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower
Minka Kelly as Jackie Kennedy
David Oyelowo as Louis Gaines
Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan
Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan
James Marsden as John F. Kennedy
Lenny Kravitz as James Holloway
Jesse Williams as Rev. James Lawson
Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson
Nelsan Ellis as Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melissa Leo as Mamie Eisenhower
Vanessa Redgrave as Annabeth Westfall
Yaya DaCosta as Carol Hammie
Colman Domingo as Freddie Fallows
Alex Manette as H.R. Haldeman
Alex Pettyfer as Thomas Westfall