David Oyelowo seems destined to play iconic roles. With a last name that literally translates to “respect the king” in his native Yoruba, the Nigerian actor has built a career around authoritative father figures and civil rights champions. Still, no part has consumed him quite like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—a role Oyelowo tirelessly fought to manifest for seven years.
The new documentary Becoming King charts this journey in intimate detail, inviting viewers behind the scenes of Oyelowo’s all-consuming efforts to inhabit Dr. King’s voice, mannerisms, and spirit in the 2014 historical drama Selma. Through revealing interviews and personal footage captured by Oyelowo’s wife, director Jessica Oyelowo, we get insight into both the soaring highs and crushing lows along the path to embodying an icon.
From early theatre acclaim in London to bit parts tracing America’s civil rights battles in Lincoln and The Help, Oyelowo’s origins already seem threaded with historical purpose. Still, his eventual Oscar snub leaves lingering questions about recognition. Ultimately though, Becoming King plays like the universe course-correcting itself—affirming that beyond accolades, Oyelowo was simply fated to illuminate Dr. King’s towering legacy for a new generation.
Humble Beginnings Shape a Leader
David Oyelowo’s path to playing Dr. King was born of hardship, sculpted by tireless devotion to his craft. Raised in poverty in Lagos, Nigeria, Oyelowo grew up in a cramped one-room apartment, sharing space with six siblings. Far from the fame and fortune of Hollywood, these humble beginnings instilled an scrappy determination and steely work ethic from a young age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQW30L-l5_c
Yet even as a child, Oyelowo was drawn to performance, staging plays in his neighborhood and mimicking characters from popular TV shows. This innate talent earned him a scholarship to the prestigious City and Islington College theater program in London—the start of an ascent in the world of British theater. Quickly singled out as a prodigy, Oyelowo landed coveted roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, becoming the first black actor to play an English king in the troupe’s storied history.
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Still, amidst acclaim came controversy. When Oyelowo took on the title role in Henry VI, he was subjected to racial attacks in the British press—foreshadowing future struggles stateside. After flexing his classical chops, Oyelowo set sights on Hollywood. But unlike the sudden stardom enjoyed by British imports, he found himself starting from zero—bookending civil rights history in supporting parts: from Lincoln to Freedom Riders to The Help. All building the resume of an actor seemingly destined to bring a movement leader to life.
The Long Road to Glory: Bringing “Selma” to Life
If playing Dr. King was David Oyelowo’s destiny, the road to realizing it was filled with countless obstacles and setbacks that nearly derailed Selma at every turn. Through revealing behind-the-scenes footage, we witness Oyelowo’s Job-like perseverance across seven turbulent years devoted to the role of a lifetime.
The journey begins in 2007, with Oyelowo committing himself wholly to portraying Dr. King after a vivid dream about the civil rights leader. Early discussions spark with producer Oprah Winfrey and director Lee Daniels, who later admits the starring role initially felt beyond Oyelowo’s talents at the time. Nevertheless, as financing crumbled and directors came and went, Oyelowo held fast to his vision against all odds.
A crucial turning point came when Oyelowo brought activist director Ava DuVernay on board, after Daniels reluctantly departed the project. Through in-depth interviews, DuVernay and Oprah detail Oyelowo’s off-Broadway immersion into Dr. King—his endless research, physical transformation through weight gain, and mastery of King’s mannerisms and speech patterns.
Yet despite this Herculean preparation, tragedy struck on the eve of production. When Oyelowo’s mother unexpectedly passed, he nearly resigned from acting entirely. But ultimately he persevered, pouring his grief into the role. Overcoming internal turmoil and external resistance, Oyelowo shows how vision mixed with relentless dedication can manifest even the unlikeliest dreams into reality—bringing to screen the pivotal days in Dr. King’s fight for voting rights across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
An Intimate But One-Sided Portrait
While undeniably moving and intimate, Becoming King suffers at times from being too close to its triumphant subject matter. As director Jessica Oyelowo admits, capturing her own husband’s journey lends an inherent bias that sidelines the story’s thornier nuances. Rather than a balanced documentary, the film skews frequently into hagiography—placing Oyelowo on an undeserved pedestal above critique.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the film’s shortened discussion of racial dynamics. Beyond a few cursory nods to the bigotry Oyelowo faced early on, race feels more like set dressing than the complex, ugly obstacle it remained throughout this period. Instead, the documentary fixates almost exclusively on Oyelowo overcoming the standard hero narrative conflicts of self-confidence and adversity. While inspiring for actors, this limited scope flattens Selma’s restorative impact during Ferguson— rarely exploring why Dr. King’s story still painfully resonates in modern America.
Likewise, Oyelowo appears almost saintly throughout—his faults, if any, left conspicuously absent. The rare moments Jessica Oyelowo captures more raw frustration and doubt from her husband prove the documentary’s most compelling scenes. Here is the human struggle so glaringly missing—the anxious, slippery quest to embody a figure who belongs to history more than any one portrayal.
In the end, while lightweight, Becoming King still entertains as an underdog story for aspiring artists. Yet measuring up to Dr. King’s legacy demands more sober, searing insight from all angles—a responsibility no single film can fully shoulder alone. Hopefully as a companion piece, Becoming King spurs viewers to seek out additional perspectives on this vital history beyond Oyelowo’s spellbinding performance.
An Actor Overdue for Celebration
While falling short as pure documentary, Becoming King still provides a compelling spotlight on one of Hollywood’s most unsung talents. Through Oyelowo’s decade-spanning efforts, we witness an actor’s endless hustle to transcend the industry’s rigid conceptions of Black leading men. While peers were instantly catapulted to stardom, Oyelowo took the slow road—brick by brick constructing a resume that practically begged for a role like Dr. King to cement his rightful place.
And yet even when that pinnacle came, recognition remained lacking. After embodying the weight of history in Selma, Oyelowo was painfully snubbed come Oscar season—dismissed as merely an imitation of an icon rather than an interpretation. Becoming King seeks to correct this oversight, framing Oyelowo’s work ethnic and vision as central to the film’s success. More than anything, it cements his status as the rare performer capable of responsibly unlocking historical figures for modern audiences.
Indeed, through the documentary’s lens, all of Oyelowo’s prior roles gain stirring new dimension—now linked by fate to Selma rather than mere stepping stones. His ascent traces the very civil rights timeline he would one day animate to such human heights. No longer supporting characters, these performances blaze with leading man magnetism biding time until Oyelowo’s destiny could be fulfilled.
Which raises the question going forward—having reached these heights, where does an actor of such gravitas go next? More historical figures seem preordained, though Oyelowo’s true gift may be roles that bridge eras of social change. Perhaps his greatest honor remains cementing Dr. King’s message, passed lovingly down, as a legacy belonging now to all generations.
The Journey Greater Than the Destination
At its core, Becoming King plays like a fated circle completed—one man finally grasping that iconic role he spent his whole life building towards. Yet the film’s most resonant message lays in celebrating the vision and perseverance of the journey over the destination’s glory. For through all the gutting setbacks and self-doubts, what endures is Oyelowo’s tireless devotion to honoring Dr. King’s legacy with integrity to the complex man inside the myth.
Ultimately, this creative passion proves redemptive, as all Oyelowo’s past hardships fuse into the emotional depth that electrifies his performance. In staring down racism, loss, and lingering industry bias, he returns to Hollywood with the hard-won authority to resurrect history on screen. What’s revealed is an actor who through raw determination holds the power and burden of expanding which stories get told.
So while seeing Oyelowo’s childhood dreams fulfilled stirs hope, Becoming King’s lasting impact may be in its call to action. The next generation waits in the wings, yearning for their shot at unlikely dreams. And when they embark down heartbreakingly long roads, Oyelowo now lights the way—another leader blazing trails in his destined footsteps.
The Review
Becoming King
Becoming King proves an intimate and affecting, if unbalanced behind-the-scenes look at one actor’s all-consuming journey to embody Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Carried by revealing interviews and footage, it captures both soaring triumphs and heartbreaking setbacks along the road to definitive cinematic portrayal. Ultimately, a bit lightweight as pure documentary, but still inspires through its focal point: an under-appreciated talent whose vision and perseverance brings a pivotal civil rights struggle blazing back to life.
PROS
- Provides an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at David Oyelowo's journey to play MLK Jr.
- Captures the actor's dedication through personal interviews and footage
- Shows the many challenges and obstacles that nearly derailed the film "Selma"
- Spotlights an underappreciated talent in David Oyelowo
- Conveys the emotional impact of finally fulfilling a dream role
CONS
- Documentary skews too positive, lacks complexity or critique of subject
- Glosses over issues of race, power dynamics
- Feels incomplete as a portrait of the "Selma" production
- Focus stays narrowly on Oyelowo without larger context
- Does not delve deeper into MLK Jr.'s complex legacy
