Laurence Fishburne to portray Nelson Mandela in BET miniseries

Laurence Fishburne has been cast as Nelson Mandela for an upcoming miniseries.

The Matrix and Hannibal actor will assume the role of the influential South African leader in BET miniseries MadibaMandela’s grandson Kweku Mandela will serve as executive producer and Kevin Hooks (Prison Break) will direct.

Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford in Hannibal S03E12: 'The Number of the Beast is 666'


Based on two Mandela books, Conversations With Myself and Nelson Mandela by Himself, the miniseries will follow a younger Mandela's involvement in the political unrest in South Africa during the early 1960s.

The miniseries is named after Mandela's clan name, which is used by South Africans who respected and adored him.

Executive produced by Mandela's grandson Kweku Mandela, Madiba will start filming in South Africa next year.

Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years for his anti-apartheid efforts. After his release, he became the first black president of South Africa and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He died in 2013 at the age of 95. 

His death was announced during the London premiere of a biopic about him starring Idris Elba, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

The premiere was attended by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Mandela's daughters Zindzi and Zenani.

Other actors to have portrayed Mandela include Morgan Freeman, Sidney Poitier, Danny Glover, David Harewood, Clarke Peters, Dennis Haysbert and Terrence Howard.

Fishburne currently has a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Black-ish and will appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016. 
Madiba will begin production in South Africa early next year. 

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