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The Great Debaters

The Great Debaters2007

★7.3126 minDrama

The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.

Director

Denzel Washington

Writer

Jeffrey Porro Robert Eisele

Score

James Newton Howard Peter Golub

Stars

Denzel Whitaker Denzel Washington Nate Parker

Cast50

Denzel Whitaker
as James Farmer Jr.
Denzel Washington
as Melvin B. Tolson
Nate Parker
as Henry Lowe
Jurnee Smollett-Bell
as Samantha Booke
Forest Whitaker
as Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Kimberly Elise
as Pearl Farmer
Jermaine Williams
as Hamilton Burgess
Gina Ravera
as Ruth Tolson
John Heard
as Sheriff Dozier
Devyn A. Tyler
as Helen Farmer
T
Trenton McClain Boyd
as Nathaniel Farmer
Ritchie Montgomery
as Deputy
Jackson Walker
as Pig Owner
Tim Parati
as Pig Farmer
Robert X. Golphin
as Dunbar Reed
Justice Leak
as Harland Osbourne
Glen Powell
as Harvard Debater #1
B
Brad Watkins
as Harvard Debater #2
Brian Smiar
as Harvard Dean
Damien Leake
as Wilson
V
Voltaire Sterling
as Paul Quinn Debater #1
Stephen Rider
as Paul Quinn Debater #2
Gordon Danniels
as Paul Quinn Debate Judge
Donny Boaz
as Oklahoma City College Debater #1
S
Samuel Elliott Whisnant
as Oklahoma City College Debater #2
Bonnie Johnson
as Dr. Jennings
Charissa Allen
as Benita
Michael Beasley
as Trudell
G
Gary Mathis
as Enormous Man
George Wilson
as Samuel
Fahnlohnee R. Harris
as Clementine
Harold Evans
as William Taylor
J.D. Evermore
as Captain Wainwright
Sharon Jones
as Lila
Kelvin Payton
as Joseph
S
Southey Blanton
as White Labor Organizer
M
Michael Mattison
as White Sharecropper #1
J
Jeff Braun
as White Sharecropper #2
M
Milton R. Gipson
as Prairie View Professor
Frank Ridley
as Security Guard
J
Jeremiah Kissel
as Radio Announcer at Harvard Debate
Jack Radosta
as White Man at Lynching
A
Alvin Youngblood Hart
as Juke Joint Musician #1
Dom Flemons
as Juke Joint Musician #2
J
Justin Robinson
as Juke Joint Musician #3
Rhiannon Giddens
as Juke Joint Musician #4
A
Ahmad Powell
as Fisk Professor
Marcus Lyle Brown
as Howard Debater #1
G
Gary Mattis
as Enormous Man
Kevin Beard
as Klansman at Lynching (uncredited)

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The Great Debaters (2007) — Cast & Connections | FilmLink

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