Following his terrible vehicle accident, it’s taken Tracy Morgan a long time to get his health back and be ready to start working again. He’s made a few TV appearances, including hosting SNL, and now he’s ready to book a full acting gig, as the 30 Rock star is in talks to play legendary comedian Red Foxx in the long-gestating biopic of Richard Pryor.
The film has been in the works for years, but got new life recently with Lee Daniels (Precious, Empire) taking the director’s chair, Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and Danny Strong (Empire) writing the script, and Mike Epps playing the iconic Pryor.
Foxx and Pryor played important roles in each others’ career, with Pryor getting his start as the opening act and Foxx’s comedy club. Then, once Pryor became famous, he repaid the favour by helping get Foxx onto Hollywood’s radar, resulting in the iconic sitcom, Sanford & Son.
Oprah Winfrey is also on board as Pryor’s grandmother, with Eddie Murphy and Taraji P. Henson as his parents and Kate Hudson as his wife.