12 Years a Slave
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12 Years a Slave

Year:
Duration:
134 min
Genres:
Biography | Drama | History
IMDB rate:
8.1
Director:
Steve McQueen
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 235 wins & 219 nominations
Details
Country: USA
Release Date: 2013-11-08
Filming Locations: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Earnings
Budget: $20,000,000
Opening Weekend: $923,715 (USA) (20 October 2013)
Gross: $56,667,870 (USA) (5 May 2014)
Cast
Actor
Character
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
12 Years a Slave
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Solomon Northup
Dwight Henry
Uncle Abram
Dickie Gravois
Overseer
Bryan Batt
Judge Turner
Ashley Dyke
Anna
Kelsey Scott
Anne Northup
Quvenzhané Wallis
Margaret Northup
Cameron Zeigler
Alonzo Northup
Tony Bentley
Mr. Moon
Scoot McNairy
Brown
Taran Killam
Hamilton
Christopher Berry
Burch
Bill Camp
Radburn
Mister Mackey Jr.
Randall
Chris Chalk
Clemens
Craig Tate
John
Adepero Oduye
Eliza
Storm Reid
Emily
Tom Proctor
Biddee
Marc Macaulay
Captain
Vivian Fleming-Alvarez
Mulatto Woman
Michael Kenneth Williams
Robert
Douglas M. Griffin
Sailor
John McConnell
Jonus Ray
Marcus Lyle Brown
Jasper
Richard Holden
Fitzgerald
Rob Steinberg
Parker
Paul Giamatti
Freeman
Anwan Glover
Cape
Benedict Cumberbatch
Ford
James C. Victor
Buyer (as J.C. Victor)
Liza J. Bennett
Mistress Ford
Nicole Collins
Rachel
J.D. Evermore
Chapin (as JD Evermore)
Paul Dano
Tibeats
Michael Fassbender
Edwin Epps
Sarah Paulson
Mistress Epps
Lupita Nyong'o
Patsey
Andy Dylan
Treach
Deneen Tyler
Phebe (as Deneen D. Tyler)
Mustafa Harris
Sam
Gregory Bright
Edward
Austin Purnell
Bob
Thomas Francis Murphy
Patroller
Andre De'Sean Shanks
Victim 1 (as Andre Shanks)
Kelvin Harrison
Victim 2
Scott Michael Jefferson
Master Shaw (as Scott M. Jefferson)
Alfre Woodard
Mistress Shaw
Isaiah Jackson
Zachary
Garret Dillahunt
Armsby
Topsy Chapman
Slave Spiritual Singer 1
Devin Maurice Evans
Slave Spiritual Singer 2
Jay Huguley
Sheriff
Devyn A. Tyler
Margaret Northup (adult)
Willo Jean-Baptiste
Margaret's Husband
Jason Ament
Cooke (uncredited)
Jon Arthur
Steamboat Crew 1st Mate (uncredited)
Sean Paul Braud
Lynchman (uncredited)
Blake Burt
Upper Class Pedestrian (uncredited)
Carroll Burt
Lower Class Pedestrian (uncredited)
Joseph Randy Causin
Steamboat Crew (uncredited)
Edward J. Clare
Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
JJ Coker
Mr. Bartholomew (uncredited)
Haylie Creppel
Child in the Park (uncredited)
Justin Edward Davis
Saratoga Park Pedestrian (uncredited)
Emily D. Haley
Tea Seller (uncredited)
Jim Johnson
Lower Class Pedestrian (uncredited)
Mark Joyce
Street Merchant (uncredited)
John C. Klein
Lumber Mill Customer (uncredited)
Cynthia LeBlanc
Washington D.C. Pedestrian (uncredited)
Elton LeBlanc
Hotel Dining Patron (uncredited)
Gerard 'Jerry' Lewis
Slave Guard (uncredited)
Kevonte Mcdonald
Slave (uncredited)
Ritchie Montgomery
Roadman (uncredited)
Myesha-Tiara
Edwin Epps's Slave (uncredited)
Ruth Negga
Celeste (uncredited)
Jason Owen
Safty (uncredited)
Shawn Parsons
Road Man (uncredited)
Haley Powell
Slave Girl (uncredited)
Wayne Pére
Winslow (uncredited)
Terrell Ransom Jr.
Slave Boy (uncredited)
Erin Rementer
Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
Andre Robinson
Slave Boy (uncredited)
Katherine Jeanie Russell
Upper Class Pedestrian (uncredited)
Jarett Shorts
Hornboy (uncredited)
Chaz Smith
Cigar Smoker (uncredited)
Tyler Soerries
Boy Playing in Park (uncredited)
Tre Tureaud
Saratoga Park Pedestrians (uncredited)
Justin Christopher Vaughn
Ezra (uncredited)
Bob Walker
Abolitionist Landowner (uncredited)
Caroline Grace Williamson
Ford Daughter (uncredited)
Timothy Wyant
Ford Lumber Buyer (uncredited)
Did you know?
Trivia
Michael Kenneth Williams had an emotional breakdown while filming what eventually became a deleted scene in the movie, as he related on the The Arsenio Hall Show (2013). The stress of recreating such painful material caused him to collapse to the ground after a take, where he screamed and cried for an extended period as one of the stunt coordinators comforted him.
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This movie marks the reuniting of Dwight Henry and Quvenzhané Wallis, both from Louisiana, where the film was shot, who had been acclaimed just months before for their first acting roles when they costarred in Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012). However, they do not share any scenes together.
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The tree where Solomon Northup sees several men being lynched was actually used for lynching and is surrounded by the graves of murdered slaves.
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Goofs
When Platt is left hanging by his neck, you can see the shadows of the trees but there is no shadow of Platt.
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In the opening shots, a violin is being played and tuned. The light passes completely through the strings revealing they are not made of any natural product or twining, but plastic or nylon.
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Several times during the movie horses are seen wearing bridles with a 'flash' attachment on the nose-band. This type of attachment wasn't invented until the 1960s.
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Quotes
Solomon Northup: I will not fall into despair! I will keep myself hardy until freedom is opportune!
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Solomon Northup: I don't want to survive. I want to live.
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Freeman: Oren. John. Lethe. Eliza. Randall. Emily. Platt... Platt!
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Faq
Q
Did Solomon's kidnappers really drug him?
A
As he indicated in his autobiography, Solomon Northup is not positive that he was in fact drugged, however, he remembers various clues that led him to that conclusion. He had spent the day with Alexander Merrill and Joseph Russell making stops at a number of saloons in Washington, D.C. They were observing the festivities that were part of the great funeral procession of General Harrison. At the saloons, the two men would serve themselves, and they would then pour a glass and hand it to Solomon. As he states in his memoir, he did not become intoxicated. By late afternoon, he fell ill with a severe headache and nausea. His sickness progressed until he was insensible by evening. He was unable to sleep and was stricken with severe thirst. He recalls several people entering the room where he had been staying. They told him that he needed to come with them to see a physician. Shortly after leaving his room and heading into the streets, his memory escapes him and the next thing he remembers is waking up handcuffed and chained to the floor of the Williams Slave Pen in Washington, D.C.
Q
Is '12 Years a Slave' based on a book?
A
Yes. 12 Years a Slave is based on an 1853 memoir of the same title by Solomon Northup [1808-1863?], born free in New York but kidnapped in Washington, D.C. in 1841 and sold into slavery. He spent the next 12 years working on plantations in Louisiana until his release in 1853. Northup's memoir was adapted for the film by American screenwriter John Ridley. The movie won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. Northup's memoir was also the source for the 1984 made-for-TV movie, American Playhouse: Solomon Northup's Odyssey (#4.3) (1984).
Q
Did Solomon really play the violin?
A
Yes. Solomon began playing the violin during the leisure hours of his youth, after he finished his main duty of helping his father on the farm. In his memoir, he calls the violin "the ruling passion of my youth," going on to say, "It has also been the source of consolation since, affording pleasure to the simple beings with whom my lot was cast, and beguiling my own thoughts, for many hours, from the painful contemplation of my fate."
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Photos from cast
Brad Pitt Corrina Roshea
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