A first look at actress Tika Sumpter in the role of a younger Michelle Obama in the upcoming film “Southside With You” was revealed in photos released online this week.
Known for her role as Layla Williams on the ABC soap opera “One Life to Live,” Sumpter is portraying lawyer Michelle Robinson opposite Parker Sawyers as Barack Obama, then a young law firm associate. The romantic dramedy film was inspired by the future first couple’s first date,
according to The Hollywood Reporter.
On a summer afternoon and evening in 1989, Obama reportedly took Robinson on a date to the Art Institute of Chicago before attending a screening of Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” and they later shared their first kiss outside an ice cream parlor,
according to People magazine.
The online photos show Sumpter wearing a bright orange blouse and beige skirt while Sawyers is in a blue button-down shirt and khaki pants.
The first couple has talked openly about their first date, and in a recorded video message played prior to the 25th anniversary screening of “Do the Right Thing” at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last year, they talked about Obama’s first date choice.
“…I took her to this new movie everybody was talking about, directed by a guy that not that many people had heard of, but it was supposed to be pretty good,” the president said in the message.
“He was trying to show me his sophisticated side by selecting an independent filmmaker, and it ended up being a pretty good movie – really great!” Michelle said.
The “Southside With You” is being produced by IM Global and State Street Pictures,
according to Deadline.com.
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