Oprah Winfrey joins ‘Selma’ + reunites cast of ‘A Different World’ (PHOTO)

Posted by | Ray Cornelius

It looks like Oprah Winfrey has been bitten by the acting bug again. The media mogul has just picked up a part in the film she is also producing alongside Brad Pitt titled, Selma.  The Ava DuVernay project chronicles the march African-Americans made from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 in order to gain voting rights.

According to Indie Wire, “Winfrey will play Annie Lee Cooper, a civil rights pioneer who gained notoriety in 1965 for a confrontation with then Sheriff James G. Clark, outside the Dallas County (in Selma) courthouse, where she was attempting to register to vote. The 54-year-old Cooper was ordered to go home by the Sheriff; according to reports I read, she claimed that he poked her in the back of the neck with either a billy club or a cattle prod, which prompted her to turn around and deliver a solid right hook to the sheriff’s jaw, dropping him to the ground.”

Reportedly Ms. Cooper lived to be 100 years old and passed away in 2010.

Winfrey joins a star-studded list of actors including David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Ledisi, Common, Andre Holland and most recently added Niecy Nash and Kent Faulcon.

In other Oprah Winfrey news…The cast of A Different World  reunited for a special episode of Winfrey’s, “Where Are They Now?” series.   Iconic actors Sinbad, Dawnn Lewis, Cree Summer, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, and Darryl M. Bell were all smiles when they taped with Winfrey on last Wednesday (June 11).

They were also joined by the show’s executive producer and legendary entertainer, Debbie Allen, who tweeted the above photo along with the following caption:  “Felt so good to be reunited with my #differentworld cast!! THANKS @Oprah“

Noticeably absent from the photo were Charnele Brown (Kim Reese), original cast member Lisa Bonet, Glynn Turman (Colonel Taylor) and Lou Myers (Mr. Gaines), who passed away in 2013.  At any rate, everyone looks really  good and we can’t wait to see the episode.

Photo Credits: IndieWire.com, Selmatimesjournal.com, and Twitter/Debbie Allen