10 years since the cancellation of the Richard Pryor biopic, Mike Epps, who was supposed to play Pryor in the film, made some claims on the All The Smoke podcast.
Mike Epps to Play Richard Pryor
First off, there is already a documentary about the life of Pryor called I Am Richard Pryor which was released in 2019, it included interviews from historians, activists, and comedians, one of which was Mike Epps.
Epps has been campaigning about playing Pryor for a decade now. In 2014, Director Lee Daniels, the man responsible for the TV series ‘Empire’ and the Oscar-winning movie ‘Precious’, tweeted that Richard Pryor was to be played by Mike Epps.
He wasn’t exactly the first-choice as there were a lot of names attached to the initial announcement which were considered to play the iconic role, such as; Marlon Wayans, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Michael B. Jordan, and Nick Cannon.
Nick Cannon reportedly started preparing for the role by starting to smoke and learning to do things left-handed among other things. However, Epps impressed both Lee Daniels and Oprah, who was one of the producers, and ultimately landed the role.
Get ready y’all- #MikeEpps as #RichardPryor pic.twitter.com/0sothu7yVB
— Lee Daniels (@leedanielsent) August 24, 2014
It was something Epps has wanted for a long time. Richard Pryor is a legendary comedian and having the opportunity to play him, Epps considered it to be an honour to play one of his idols, he even personally consulted with Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor.
Had to kiss the ring of @jennferLpryor for the blessing !you got to be stong to have been with the king! pic.twitter.com/OxvbjvPqHc
— Mike Epps (@TheRealMikeEpps) August 24, 2014
Biopic Cancelled
The film was initially announced to be put on pause when Lee Daniels exited to work on the TV series ‘Empire’ but as Epps claims the whole project, the “Richard Pryor: Is it Something I said?” film eventually fell through.
Epps eventually did get his opportunity to play Pryor in the HBO Series, ‘Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty’, serving as a supporting role rather than the lead.
In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, he says that Epps wanted the role for some time now, and he honestly did not care whether or not he did well in the role and expressed his admiration for the late-comic,
They gave me a little taste of Richard Pryor. I played a little taste of Richard Pryor and it was amazing. Just for my name to even come up with Richard Pryor’s name, I don’t care if I did good or not. You know what I mean? I’m just happy my name came up… Yeah man, Richard Pryor, he’s such an idol to everybody. I wish I could have met him, man, well, I did meet him, but I wish I could have met him, met him and hung out.
Mike Epps On All The Smoke
On the recent episode of All The Smoke Podcast with ex-NBA stars Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Epps claimed that the reason the whole Biopic fell through and why he’s no longer set to play the iconic comedian is because of Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor.
He claims that he was no longer considered to play the part because he refused Jennifer Lee Pryor’s sexual advances, he said,
I was going to play Richard Pryor, man, and then … I didn’t screw his wife, his ex-wife, and she got mad… You’re not going to play Richard! (allegedly imitating Jennifer) You didn’t spank this ass.’ I said ‘Nope, I ain’t playing Richard Pryor then.
He then continued that Jennifer Lee Pryor said to him that he wasn’t ready to play Richard to which he allegedly retorted with a few crass words and then implied that kids today would only go watch a Richard Pryor flick because they’re Mike Epps fans.
I told her, ‘I love Richard Pryor. I love him to death but my kids don’t know who he is.
Jennifer Lee Pryor’s Response
Jennifer quickly denied all the claims that Epps said on the podcast and said that his comments were,
Just low-rent. You’re just ghetto, Mike.
She clarified that the real reason that the project didn’t continue was because of the Lee Daniels focusing on ‘Empire’. She then continued with that even if the project does happen in the future, Epps wouldn’t be a part of it.
Jennifer says that Epps “aged out” to be a contender and even if he was still young enough to play the part, she still didn’t like how Epps portrayed Pryor in the ‘Winning Time’,
He played Richard like a homeless junkie… It was horrible. Mike’s played Richard in a couple of different movies and films, little cameos here and there, and that’s the extent of Mike playing Richard. I don’t know why he wants to pick a flight with me and why he would say that. I wouldn’t touch his d**k with a 10-foot pole.
Richard Pryor was such an iconic comedian that we certainly do hope there would be a biopic in the future! For more great comedians and absolutely hilarious comedy shows, stop-by at one of the best comedy clubs in London, Big Belly Comedy Club!
Mike Epps
