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| Forest Whitaker |
The cast for A+E Networks' upcoming four-night, eight-hour scripted event miniseries
Roots has been revealed, including Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (
Lee Daniels’ The Butler,
South Paw) as “Fiddler,” a slave who tries to mentor Kunta Kinte and risks his life to help him escape; Academy Award winner Anna Paquin (
True Blood) as “Nancy Holt,” the wife of a Confederate officer who has her own agenda when it comes to the handling of slaves; Golden Globe Award winning and Emmy Award nominated actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (
The Tudors) as “Tom Lea,” an uneducated slave owner desperate to claw his way into the elite company of Southern gentility; Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (
Dream Girls,
The Good Wife) as “Kizzy,” the cherished, smart daughter of Kunta Kinte who maintains her family pride and warrior spirit; Chad L. Coleman (
The Walking Dead,
The Wire) as “Mingo,” a stern no-nonsense slave who keeps the Lea plantation afloat; Erica Tazel (
Justified) as “Matilda,” a preacher’s daughter and love interest to “Chicken George”; and Derek Luke (
Captain America: The First Avenger,
Antwone Fisher) as “Silla Ba Dibba,” the military trainer of Juffure, charged with transforming teen boys into powerful Mandinka Warriors.
