King in film

A small number of performers have already portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in feature films, TV movies and miniseries. Consider the spectrum:

• “King” (1978, NBC): Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson (Coretta Scott King) were nominated for Emmys for their roles in the six-hour miniseries. All four King children had small roles.

• “Kennedy” (1983, NBC): Another miniseries, this one about JFK’s (Martin Sheen) presidency. Charles Brown portrayed Dr. King.

• “Ali” (2001): LeVar Burton (“Roots,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) was the civil rights leader opposite Oscar nominee Will Smith’s version of “The Greatest.”

• “Boycott” (2001, HBO): Jeffrey Wright (“Quantum of Solace,” “Angels in America”) was King in the Peabody Award-winning TV film about the 1955-56 city bus boycott in Montgomery.

• “The Rosa Parks Story” (2002, CBS): Another take on the bus boycott with Angela Bassett as the iconic Parks and Dexter King in a small role as his late father.

• “Path to War” (2002, HBO): Michael Gambon (Professor Dumbledore!) was president Lyndon Johnson, Alec Baldwin was Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and Curtis McClarin was Dr. King in this movie about the White House during Vietnam.