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The Butler
Directed by
Lee Daniels
PG-13
2013
2h 12m
Drama
,
Biography
7.2
71%
78%
Add to Watchlist
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
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Where to Watch The Butler
The Roku Channel
Free
Amazon Prime Video
Subscription
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Subscription
+8 more
Cast of The Butler
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
Liev Schreiber
Lyndon B. Johnson
Robin Williams
Dwight Eisenhower
Yaya DaCosta
Carol Hammie
David Banner
Earl Gaines
Colman Domingo
Freddie Fallows
Nelsan Ellis
Martin Luther King Jr.
Nealla Gordon
Senator Kassebaum
Elijah Kelley
Charlie Gaines (15-18)
Minka Kelly
Jackie Kennedy
Adriane Lenox
Gina
Mo McRae
Eldridge Huggins
Pernell Walker
Lorraine
Jesse Williams
Rev. James Lawson
Clarence Williams III
Maynard
LaJessie Smith
Abraham
John P. Fertitta
Mr. Jenkins
Jim Gleason
R.D. Warner
Isaac White
Charlie Gaines (10)
Joe Chrest
White Usher
Tyson Ford
Elroy
James DuMont
Sherman Adams
Robert Aberdeen
Herbert Brownell
Olivia Washington
Olivia
Margaret M. Owens
Woolworth Diner Patron #1
Eric Ducote
Woolworth Diner Patron #2
Chloe Barach
Caroline Kennedy
Danny Strong
Freedom Bus Journalist
Clara Hopkins Daniels
Freedom Bus Rider
Dana Gourrier
Helen Holloway
Shirley Pugh
Malcolm X Goer
Bill Newman
Pastor
Colin Walker
John Ehrlichman
Alex Manette
Bob Haldeman
Rusty Robertson
Senator Robertson
Stephen Rider
Admiral Rochon
Tarra Riggs
Sophie Wilson (uncredited)
Xosha Roquemore
Foxy (uncredited)
The Butler Ratings & Reviews
Chris
December 29, 2024
If Denzel played this role only half as well as Whitaker, he would have been Oscar-nominated. Forest Whitaker is underrated and often overlooked.
Us Weekly
Mara Reinstein
Amusing stunt casting aside, it's riveting to observe how civil rights evolved from inside the Oval Office
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
Winfrey is good, though, demonstrating yet again that she's an actress and not just a celebrity playing an actress.
Reel Talk Online
Candice Frederick
While the film fictionalizes many aspects of Allen's true story (even changing his name to Cecil Gaines) for dramatic effect, it stays true its sentiment.
Bitch Media
Nijla Mu'min
I appreciate The Butler for the editing (by Joe Clotz), the juxtaposition, and its black-centric lens.
National Newspaper Publishers Association
Dwight Brown
Brilliant. Historic. Compelling.
Grantland
Wesley Morris
It's not an interpretation of actual history as much as it is a reduced revision of movie history.
The New Yorker
David Denby
A high-minded, didactic, but irresistible entertainment ...
Detroit News
Tom Long
"The Butler" mixes big issues and big people and real human life with surprising grace.
Movie Mom
Nell Minow
This cavalcade of star power is just the frame. Director Lee Daniels and screenwriter Danny Strong put the human story at the center of the tumultuous historic changes.
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Lee Daniels' The Butler is a straightforward film that puts the recent past in our grasp.
leonardmaltin.com
Leonard Maltin
Cecil Gaines may be a fictionalized character, but he carries a lot of weight on his shoulders, beautifully interpreted by Forest Whitaker.
Slate
Dana Stevens
The director's sometimes absurd bravado-along with Forest Whitaker's grave, wise performance in the title role-is what gives this outsized and sometimes lumbering film its irrefutable emotional power.
RogerEbert.com
Steven Boone
Daniels directs in about five styles at once, like a Bollywood maestro. No, it's not a musical, but it makes plenty of visual music.
Washington Post
John Anderson
"Lee Daniels' The Butler" might have been titled "Lee Daniels' Forrest Gump" - its hero challenged morally rather than mentally, but watching history in Gumpian fashion, as a series of cameos viewed through a slightly clueless daze.
Denver Post
Lisa Kennedy
A history lesson in violence and endurance. A sentimental journey. A tribute. Director Daniels and the dedicated cast of The Butler deliver all that.
Chicago Reader
Ben Sachs
The movie's a mess, but a unique and provocative one.
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
"The Butler" is a nice idea for a movie, but has a mostly silly script and some of the craziest and most laughable casting imaginable.
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Remarkable not for its "Forrest Gump"-itude but for its unerring social portrait of a black middle class torn by the stress-fractures of an era.
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Both deeply affecting and blatant Oscar bait.
Watch The Butler Videos
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Trailer
Lee Daniels' Jane Fonda
Lee Daniels' Jane Fonda
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels' Lee Daniels
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Minka Kelly
Lee Daniels' Minka Kelly
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Alan Rickman
Lee Daniels' Alan Rickman
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' David Oyelowo
Lee Daniels' David Oyelowo
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' James Marsden
Lee Daniels' James Marsden
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Lenny Kravitz
Lee Daniels' Lenny Kravitz
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Oprah Winfrey
Lee Daniels' Oprah Winfrey
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Robin Williams
Lee Daniels' Robin Williams
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Forest Whitaker
Lee Daniels' Forest Whitaker
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Terrence Howard
Lee Daniels' Terrence Howard
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' Vanessa Redgrave
Lee Daniels' Vanessa Redgrave
Behind the Scenes
Lee Daniels' 70'S Dance
Lee Daniels' 70'S Dance
Scene
Lee Daniels' Infidelity
Lee Daniels' Infidelity
Scene
Lee Daniels' Dinner Table
Lee Daniels' Dinner Table
Scene
Lee Daniels' Water Fountain
Lee Daniels' Water Fountain
Scene
Lee Daniels' Ignite A Revolution
Lee Daniels' Ignite A Revolution
Scene
Lee Daniels' Meeting Carter And Holloway
Lee Daniels' Meeting Carter And Holloway
Scene
Lee Daniels' White House Dinner Invitation
Lee Daniels' White House Dinner Invitation
Scene
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