Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.
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Forest Whitaker
Cecil Gaines
Oprah Winfrey
Gloria Gaines
David Oyelowo
Louis Gaines
John Cusack
Richard Nixon
Jane Fonda
Nancy Reagan
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Carter Wilson
Mariah Carey
Hattie Pearl
Terrence Howard
Howard
Lenny Kravitz
James Holloway
Aml Ameen
Cecil Gaines (15)
Michael Rainey Jr.
Cecil Gaines (8)
James Marsden
John F. Kennedy
Alex Pettyfer
Thomas Westfall
Vanessa Redgrave
Annabeth Westfall
Alan Rickman
Ronald Reagan
Lee Daniels
Director
Danny Strong
Writer
Harvey Weinstein
Executive Producer
Bob Weinstein
Executive Producer
Len Blavatnik
Executive Producer
Lee Daniels
Producer
Laura Ziskin
Producer
Cassian Elwes
Producer
Buddy Patrick
Producer
Ari Daniel Pinchot
Producer
Andrew Dunn
Director of Photography
Rodrigo Leão
Original Music Composer
Joe Klotz
Editor
Ruth E. Carter
Costume Design
Tim Galvin
Production Design
