O-T Fagbenle To Play President Barack Obama In Showtime’s The First Lady

Deadline reports that O-T Fagbenle is set to play President Barack Obama opposite Viola Davis’ Michelle Obama in Showtime’s anthology series The First Lady, headlined by Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson. Davis executive produces, the series, directed and executive produced by Susanne Bier and produced by Lionsgate TV and Showtime.

The First Lady, created by Aaron Cooley, is a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. Season 1 focuses on Eleanor Roosevelt (Anderson), Betty Ford (Pfeiffer) and Michelle Obama.

Barack Hussein Obama II served as the first African American and 44th president of the United States from 2009-17. A member of the Democratic Party, Barack married Michelle Robinson Obama in 1992 before he became an Illinois state senator in 2005. Barack and Michelle are the parents of Malia and Sasha Obama.

Fagbenle, who will be recurring, joins fellow co-stars Aaron Eckhart, Rhys Wakefield, Judy Greer, Jayme Lawson and Kristine Froseth.

Cooley and Bier executive produce the series along with Davis, Julius Tennon and Andrew Wang via JuVee Productions, Cathy Schulman via her Welle Entertainment, Jeff Gaspin via Gaspin Media, Brad Kaplan via Link Entertainment.

Fagbenle is known for his work in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. He next can be seen co-starring opposite Scarlett Johansson in Marvel’s Black Widow, which is slated for release in May. In April 2020, Fagbenle became the first person to create, write, direct, compose, executive produce and star in the pilot of a television series broadcast on a major network with his original TV show Maxxx (Channel 4, Hulu). The multi-hyphenate currently has drama, comedy and non-scripted content in development.