David Oyelowo earned solid reviews for his work on The Butler, and remains very much in demand. The actor has landed the lead in another film based on a true story, signing up to star in and produce** A United Kingdom.
Oyelowo is set to play Seretse Khama, heir to the African throne of Botswana, who created a sensation in 1948 by engaging in a whirlwind romance in London with a woman named Ruth Williams. Romancing a white English office worker was considered controversial enough, but then he married her. The interracial union was opposed by both their families, as well as the British government, the Tribal elders of Botswana and the apartheid government of South Africa.
Still, the couple would not be denied, overcoming huge obstacles to be together, including exile and the abdication of the throne. Their son, Ian Khama, is currently the freely elected president of Botswana. Omagh’s Guy Hibbert wrote the script with input from Khama’s family, and Oyelowo and the other producers are looking to find a director ready to shoot the film next year in London and Botswana.