Whitaker to show off his singing talent in ‘Empire’
IT IS not easy singing opposite television’s most musical family, but that’s the task Forest Whitaker has taken on as a new member of the Empire cast.
Fans have known since last month that the Oscar-winner would be joining season four of the Fox drama about family feuds inside a musical dynasty, but the company confirmed for the first time that he would be channelling his inner tenor.
The 56-year-old Hollywood star will appear in a multi-episode arc as Uncle Eddie, a music icon who gave main character Lucious his first radio airplay.
“We knew that he was very musical and we asked him whether he wanted to sing on the show,” executive producer Ilene Chaiken said.
If any actor has the pedigree, it ought to be Whitaker, who has been belting out tunes since getting into California Polytechnic State University on a football scholarship and changing to music after injuring his back.
He toured England with the Cal Poly Chamber Singers in 1980 and studied opera at the University of Southern California’s music conservatory.
Whitaker also held his own alongside established musical stars Mary J Blige, Angela Bassett and Jennifer Hudson in Black Nativity (2013).
Empire returns for a fourth season on DStv on Thursday, September 28 at 9pm. — AFP