Vivica A. Fox is the first black woman to play the U.S. president in a movie
LOS ANGELES -- Just as Hillary Clinton is campaigning to become the first woman elected president of the United States, it seems that another milestone is in the offing, as Vivica A. Fox will be the first black actress to play the president in a live-action feature film -- to the best of Mashable's knowledge.
Fox has signed on to play the president in the independent sci-fi movie Crossbreed, which Brandon Slagle will direct for Jaguar Motion Pictures. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the story follows a group of retired war heroes who are sent by the president to retrieve an alien from an illegal medical facility that has been using its DNA to manufacture weapons. Production begins in October.
“When my producers brought up the idea of Vivica in the role, it was a lightning bolt. It was a fantastic idea. Someone who could light up a room but also has a commanding presence. Our president is positive and proactive, not the grim figure as is usually portrayed in these types of movies," Slagle told THR.
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According to Wikipedia and Mashable's own research, a black actress has never played the president in a live-action movie. Alfre Woodard played POTUS in the short-lived TV series State of Affairs, while Penny Johnson Jerald played President Amanda Waller (whoa!) in the animated movie Justice League: Gods and Monsters. But every movie that has featured a female president has cast a white actress.
In fact, Fox just shared the screen with a white female president in Independence Day: Resurgence, which cast Sela Ward as our nation's fearless leader.
While Christina Applegate and Joan Rivers are among the notable white actresses to play a female president of the United States in a movie, Ernestine Barrier was the first to break the gender-barrier in the 1953 film Project Moonbase, while Patty Duke was the first actress to play the president on television.
Nowadays, it's commonplace to see women play the president on TV, where recent portrayals have included Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Veep), Geena Davis (Commander in Chief), Tea Leoni (Madam Secretary), Sharon Stone (Agent X), Lynda Carter (Supergirl), Cherry Jones (24) and Kate Burton (Scandal).
Meanwhile, James Earl Jones appears to have been the first black actor to play the president of the United States on the big screen in the 1972 movie The Man.
As for Fox in real-life politics, the Empire actress has been campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
