'Behind the Smile' will detail the racism and racial challenges the 'Gone With the Wind' icon, who made history by becoming the first African-American ever to win an Oscar, had to face in Hollywood.
- January 8, 2021
AceShowbiz - "Snatched" star Raven Goodwin is bringing trailblazing actress Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American ever to win an Oscar, back to life for a new biopic.
The "Gone With the Wind" icon's inspiring life story is the subject of a new independent movie titled, "Behind the Smile", and now Goodwin has been cast to portray her on film.
The project, written by Gregory Blair, will detail the racism and racial challenges she had to face as a black actress in Hollywood in the 1930s and '40s, and the backlash she endured from her own community for taking on stereotypical maid or slave roles onscreen, reports Deadline.
Her role as housemaid Mammy in "Gone With the Wind" earned her the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, but she was forced to sit separately from her co-stars at the ceremony due to segregation rules, while she was banned from attending the movie's premiere as it was held at an all-white theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
Celebrating the casting news in a statement about the biopic, Goodwin writes, "Hattie YOU did it. Because of your legacy, we are able to write and portray OURSELVES in whatever light we choose. I am forever honored. I look forward to bringing this important historical and relevant life story to the screen."
McDaniel, who died of breast cancer in 1952, was most recently played onscreen by Queen Latifah on the Ryan Murphy Netflix series, "Hollywood".
The project won't be her first time portraying a real-life character on camera - Goodwin also co-starred with Latifah and Mary J. Blige in last year's TV biopic "The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel", chronicling the rise of sibling trio The Clark Sisters.
