When casting, the filmmakers tapped people who “knew Sidney.
Not justSidney Poitier, butSidney,” Winfrey tells EW at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“He has a planet of admirers, but who knows him?”
Sidney Poitier.Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images
“They knew the man intimately.
So they have a different take on him.
And that’s the take we wanted to invite the public to know.”
So we were very methodical and curated who we put in front of the camera."
The biggest get, according to Winfrey?
Poitier’s first wife Juanita Hardy, who has never spoken publicly about the actor.
It was important to Winfrey not to shy away from the darker moments in Poitier’s life.
“It’s uncomfortable because for me, he was the epitome of perfection,” she says.
It was a mission of love and protection.
And that is what we have done."
Sidneypremieres on Apple TV+ on Sept. 23.
elated content:
