Bernie Mac’s Daughter Has 2 Actors in Mind to Play Him in New Biopic

Late comedian Bernie Mac will be the subject of an in-development biopic movie, and his daughter has two actors in mind to play comedy icon. Speaking to TMZ, Mac’s daughter, Je’Niece McCullough, offered her suggestions on who could play her dad: actor Aldis Hodge and comedian Mark Phillips. She told the outlet that she feels Phillips would be great as a younger Mac, and Hodge could pull off a layered depiction of Mac in his older years.

Hodge is most well-known for his roles in Oscar-nominated movies such as Straight Outta Compton and One Night in Miami, both films in which he portrayed real-life figures. Hodge played N.W.A. member MC Ren in Straight Outta Compton and NFL legend Jim Brown in One Night in Miami. He also played the lead role in Brian Banks, a biopic about the titular football star. He has also appeared in films such as A Good Day to Die Hard, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and The Invisible Man (2020). Next up, fans will be able to catch Hodge as Carter Hall, Hawkman, in DC’s Black Adam film, which stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Phillips is a 26-year-old comedian who has made a name for himself on YouTube and social media. He creates original sketches with his friends and has amassed nearly 5 million viewers on YouTube. Phillips also had almost 3 million followers on Instagram, and close to 2 million followers on TikTok.

Little is known about the plans for the Mac biopic at this time. One thing that is for sure is singer John Legend in on-board to produce through Get Lifted, his media production company. In a statement at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, Legends producing partner, Mike Jackson, said, “We just partnered with Bernie Mac’s estate to cover Bernie Mac’s story.” According to Screen Rant, Jackson also praised Mac’s beloved sitcom from the early 2000s.

“It was beautifully done,” Jackson said. “His humor was always edgy but it always had so much heart to it at the same time. You could tell he was a family man. You could tell that he loved the people he was talking about.”

Mac first set out for a job in show business in the late ’70s, but didn’t really start getting noticed until the 1990s. His stand-up comedy career first took off after an iconic set on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam put him squarely on the radar of a lot of big names. He would go on to have small roles in films like House Party 3, B.A.P.S., and Friday. His big breakthrough came with The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) documentary/stand-up film. It featured Mac alongside fellow heavy-hitter comedians Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, and Cedric the Entertainer.

Fresh off the massive popularity of the film, Mac landed his own show, The Bernie Mac Show, which ran for five seasons — 104 episodes — on Fox. He would go on to appear in a number of beloved films, such as Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Bad Santa, and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. On Aug. 9, 2008, Mac went into cardiac arrest and died from complications of pneumonia. He was 50 years old at the time of his death.