When Steven Spielberg asks you to reprise a role, do you say no?
That is the question being posed to David Oyelowo, who recently revealed that the famous director is interested in having him play Martin Luther King Jr. again. The actor portrayed him in last year’s Selma.
In an interview with Esquire, Oyelowo revealed the conversation that he had with Spielberg, who has been wanting to do an MLK biopic for some time now. The director was supposedly a massive fan of Selma, so much that he wanted Oyelowo in his film also.
“I was at an event for AFI during award season and Steven Spielberg—who famously has been interested in making his own Martin Luther King film—came up to me and said, ‘My goodness, David, that’s one of the best things I have ever seen. You really inspired me to take another look at my Dr. King film.'”
“And then he goes, ‘You would reprise the role, right? You would do it again?’ My stomach all but fell out of my body,” he said. “I was just like, ‘Oh, my lord.’ That was quite a mountain to climb. Not only did idea of being asked to do it again give me pause, but here he is, Steven Spielberg of all people, [asking] if I entertain doing it again.”
While it was an absolute joy to see Oyelowo play this role, it would seem odd to have him doing it again in another movie, even if it were for Spielberg. Who knows if this would come to fruition since the director has so many projects on his schedule, but maybe down the line it could happen and Oyelowo could rightfully be nominated for his work.