Richard Pryor Biopic: Family Wants Marlon Wayans NOT Nick Cannon To Play Comedian
Comedian Richard Pryor's family says they don't want actor Nick Cannon to play their father if a biopic does go into production.
Richard Pryor Jr. and Rain Pryor actually want "White Chicks" actor Marlon Wayans to play their late father and explained to TMZ that they fear that the film would only be shot to show their stepmother, Jennifer Pryor, in a better light.
MStars News previously reported:
Nick Cannon may have been cast to play Richard Pryor and hinted to "TMZ Live" that he is embodying the comedian by growing out his hair and beard while chain smoking cigarettes.
"I told Lee the one thing I'm not going to do is freebase," Cannon joked.
The 33-year-old actor has met up with director Lee Daniels and said that he didn't want to confirm or deny the casting because the film was not yet in production and he didn't want to jinx it.
TMZ's creator and managing editor, Harvey Levin tried to find a loophole and asked the Wild-'N-Out star to confirm the news through body language.
"If I'm wrong that you're going to play Richard Pyror, take your hat off," Harvey said.
Cannon hesitated to take his hat off and began smiling, confirming (unofficially) that he'd landed the leading role in the reported biopic.