The Butler Franchise Guide: Movie Facts and Legacy

The Butler (2013) — an evergreen reference for this movie: the essentials, the cast, where to watch and what to watch next. One quiet voice can ignite a revolution.

Where to watch

TMDB's U.S. watch-provider data lists YouTube TV. Availability changes by country and date, so check your streaming app before watching.

Cast

Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines; Oprah Winfrey as Gloria Gaines; David Oyelowo as Louis Gaines; John Cusack as Richard Nixon; Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan; Cuba Gooding Jr. as Carter Wilson; Mariah Carey as Hattie Pearl; Terrence Howard as Howard

About The Butler

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.

More like The Butler

• All the Way
• W.
• The Assassination of Richard Nixon
• Reagan
• Selma
• The Rat Pack
• Rosewood
• The Great Debaters

Figures and availability come from public TMDB data and are provided as a sourced reference.