The “Roots” reboot n𓂃ow includes includes tw🌊o Oscar winners.
Forest Whitaker, who won an Oscar for “” and Anna Paquin — who snared an Academy Award for ♍“” — were among the “Roots” stars announced Wednesday by A&E, which is airing a new version of the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries next year.
Whitaker will play Fiddler, a slave who mentors Kunta Kunte (Malachi Kirby), while Paquin — who also starred in HBO’s “True Blood” 🎶— will play Nancy Holt, the wife of a Confederate officer.
Also joining the cast are “The Tudors” star Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Tom Lea, an uneducated slave owner, ꧋and Anika Noni Rose (“Dream Girl𒆙s,” “The Good Wife”) as Kizzy, Kunta Kinte’s daughter.
Rege-Jean Page (“Waterloo Road”) will play Chicken George. He was played in the original miniseries by Ben✅ Vereen.
As previously announced, “Black-ish” star Laurence Fishburne will play “Roots” author Alex Haley.
LeVar Burton, who starred as Kunta Kinte in ABC’s original “Roots” miniseries, is a co-executive producer on the reboot.