Movies
Whitaker speaks out about Amin portrayal
Published Thursday, Jan 25 2007, 12:41 GMT | By Miriam Zendle
Forest Whitaker has spoken about the level of research he put into his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland.
Whitaker's portrayal of the Ugandan dictator has already won him a Golden Globe, and he is now nominated for the best actor Oscar for the role.
He told BBC World Service: "Many of the people I met had a dual feeling of him in the first place - some had relatives who had been killed during the regime, but there remained the feeling that he had also done certain great things for the country. That reconciliation was something that I needed to understand in order to play the character."
Whitaker also noted the differences between the two. "We don't really look alike," he explained, "I'm three shades lighter than him, 40-50lbs lighter than him, my face structure is different. Luckily, I suppose that people felt the spirit of the man came across - and that's great.
"When I looked at the interviews and some of the documentaries that were made about him, I was struck by that ability he had to be jovial, to bring people in, to be charismatic. That was something I borrowed from the research. [I had to find] areas of paranoia, fear and, at times, anger."
Whitaker's portrayal of the Ugandan dictator has already won him a Golden Globe, and he is now nominated for the best actor Oscar for the role.
He told BBC World Service: "Many of the people I met had a dual feeling of him in the first place - some had relatives who had been killed during the regime, but there remained the feeling that he had also done certain great things for the country. That reconciliation was something that I needed to understand in order to play the character."
Whitaker also noted the differences between the two. "We don't really look alike," he explained, "I'm three shades lighter than him, 40-50lbs lighter than him, my face structure is different. Luckily, I suppose that people felt the spirit of the man came across - and that's great.
"When I looked at the interviews and some of the documentaries that were made about him, I was struck by that ability he had to be jovial, to bring people in, to be charismatic. That was something I borrowed from the research. [I had to find] areas of paranoia, fear and, at times, anger."
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