Solomon Northup - Representation in Other Media

Representation in Other Media

  • In 1984, Twelve Years a Slave was adapted as a PBS television movie entitled Solomon Northup's Odyssey, directed by Gordon Parks. Northup was portrayed by Avery Brooks.
  • In 2008, composer and saxophonist T.K. Blue, commissioned by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), recorded a musical expression of Northup's story on an album entitled Follow the North Star.
  • In June 2012 started the filming of Twelve Years a Slave (film), directed by British director Steve McQueen who also co-wrote the script with John Ridley to adapt Northup's memoir book. The British award-winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor will star as Solomon Northup. Michael Fassbender, a German-Irish actor, will play Edwin Epps, the slave's last master, while the first master -planter and Baptist preacher William Ford- will be played by British Olivier-award winning actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Brad Pitt will play the role of Henry B. Northup, the attorney and family friend. Likely release date during 2013.

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