Akeelah is a precocious 11-year-old girl from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite her mother's objections, Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee, her principal Mr. Welch, and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah's aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
04-28-2006
1h 52m
THIS
HELLA
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Main Cast
Movie Details
Production Info
Director:
Doug Atchison
Writer:
Doug Atchison
Production:
Lions Gate Films, 2929 Productions, Out of the Blue... Entertainment, Starbucks Entertainment, Cinema Gypsy Productions
Revenue:
$18,948,425
Budget:
$8,000,000
Key Crew
Producer:
Nancy Hult Ganis
Casting:
Jaki Brown
Production Design:
Warren Alan Young
Music Editor:
Johnny Caruso
Casting:
Aisha Coley
Locations and Languages
Country:
US
Filming:
US
Languages:
en
Main Cast
Keke Palmer
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP Image Awards, and nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Time magazine included her on their list of most influential people in the world in 2019.
Palmer made her acting debut in Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004). She later appeared in the television film The Wool Cap (2004), and had her breakthrough starring in the drama film Akeelah and the Bee (2006). She progressed as a child actress with roles in Madea's Family Reunion (2006), Jump In! (2007), The Longshots (2008) and Shrink (2009).
Palmer played a number of roles on Nickelodeon, such as the title character in the sitcom True Jackson, VP (2008–2011). 2014 to 2015 she starred as Ella in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway. She has since starred in the Facebook Watch series Turnt Up with the Taylors (2021) for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award. She also starred in films such as Animal (2014), Hustlers (2019) and Jordan Peele's Nope (2022).
Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961; usually credited as Larry Fishburne until 1993) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award and Tony Award winner known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative characters in his films. He is known for playing Morpheus in The Matrix series (1999–2003), Jason "Furious" Styles in the John Singleton drama film Boyz n the Hood (1991), Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller in Francis Ford Coppola's war film Apocalypse Now (1979), and "The Bowery King" in the John Wick film series (2017–present).
For his portrayal of Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), Fishburne was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Two Trains Running (1992) and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in TriBeCa (1993). Fishburne became the first African American to portray Othello on film when he appeared in Oliver Parker's 1995 film adaptation of the Shakespeare play. He has also received five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead nomination for his performance in Deep Cover (1992).
Other film credits of Fishburne include Steven Spielberg's The Colour Purple (1985), Spike Lee's School Daze (1988), Abel Ferrara's King of New York (1990), Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (2003), Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011), and Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying (2017). He has also gained a wider audience with the blockbuster films Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). On television, he starred as Dr. Raymond Langston on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2008–2011) and as Special Agent Jack Crawford in the NBC thriller series Hannibal (2013–2015), as well as having a recurring role as Earl "Pops" Johnson in the ABC sitcom Black-ish (2014–2022). He is currently starring in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's play American Buffalo alongside Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Laurence Fishburne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the late 1980s, she has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
She had her breakthrough portraying singer Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), which won her a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. This led to starring roles as Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X (1992), as the mother of The Notorious B.I.G. in Notorious (2009), and as Amanda Waller in Green Lantern (2011).
Her other notable film roles were in Boyz n the Hood (1991), Waiting to Exhale (1995), Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Music of the Heart (1999), Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and London Has Fallen (2016). She has also played Queen Ramonda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For the latter, she won a Golden Globe Award and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
On television, she has starred as Katherine Jackson in the miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992). Her portrayal of Rosa Parks in the television film The Rosa Parks Story (2002) gained her a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. Her performances in two seasons of the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story, earned her nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2014 and 2015. In 2018, she began producing and starring as an LAPD patrol sergeant in the Fox drama series 9-1-1.
Born in Houston, Texas, JR Villarreal has been working and living in Hollywood since the tender age of 10. A compelling and energetic actor, JR's talent and depth have earned him adulation from both industry professionals and fans alike.
As a youngster, JR captivated audiences with his performance in the hit film Akeelah and the Bee starring alongside KeKe Palmer and Angela Bassett. Fresh off the success of Akeela, JR played the role of "Kit" in Millennium Film's action-drama, Bobby Z with Paul Walker and Lawrence Fishburne.
Recently, his performance as the lead in the indie drama, Magic City Memoirs, garnered him a Best Actor award at the 2011 Ibiza International Film Festival. The film which is executive produced by Academy Award nominated actor, Andy Garcia, also won awards at the Miami International Film Festival and New York International Latino Film Festival.
His latest feature is Paramount's found-footage parody, Ghost Team One. A horror comedy about two roommates deathly afraid of ghosts that both fall in love with a girl who believes their home is haunted. Ghost Team One is set to hit theaters October 11, 2013.
JR's television roles include guest appearances on FX's new hit series The Bridge starring Demian Bichir, Fox's House M.D., Lifetime's Strong Medicine and CBS's Ghost Whisperer. Other television credits include guest lead roles in three of the highest rated shows on television - Cold Case, Without A Trace and CSI: Miami.
A true thespian and student of the craft, JR's presence will continue to illuminate silver and small screens for years to come.
Lee Thompson Young was an American actor. He is best remembered for his adolescent role as the title character on the Disney Channel television series The Famous Jett Jackson and as Chris Comer in the movie Friday Night Lights.
Eddie Steeples (born November 25, 1973) is an American actor known for his roles as the "Rubberband Man" in an advertising campaign for OfficeMax, and as Darnell "Crab Man" Turner on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Eddie Steeples, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Tzi Ma (Chinese: 馬泰;) is a Hong Kong-American actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as The Man in the High Castle and 24, and films, such as Dante's Peak, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 3, Arrival, The Farewell, Tigertail, and Mulan. In 2021, he starred in the American martial arts television series Kung Fu on The CW.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Craig Wasson (born March 15, 1954) is an American actor. He made his film debut in Rollercoaster (1977). He is best known for his roles as Jake Scully in Brian DePalma's Body Double (1984), and Neil Gordon in Chuck Russell's A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). For his role as Danilo Prozor in Arthur Penn's Four Friends (1981), he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Craig Wasson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Ann Leslie "Lee" Garlington (born July 20, 1953) is an American actress. She's known for her roles as Kirsten, Rose Nylund's (Betty White) daughter in the final season of The Golden Girls, Ronnie - the mistress of Joey Tribbiani's father on Friends, and a recurring role as Brenda Baxworth on Everwood. She was one of the stars of the series Lenny.
She has guest starred in a number of notable television series, including The West Wing, 7th Heaven, 8 Simple Rules, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Judging Amy, Will & Grace, Matlock, L.A. Law, The Practice, Quantum Leap, Home Improvement, Boston Legal, Roseanne, Get a Life, Profiler, Medium, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Two and a Half Men, Lie to Me and among other series. She also appeared in the sequels to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Psycho II (1983) and Psycho III (1986). She starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen in the action/thriller Cobra (1986). In Sneakers (1992), she appeared as Dr. Elena Rhyzkov, a Czechoslovakian mathematics scientist, in a scene with Robert Redford.
She was originally intended to play the lead female role in Seinfeld. She was the female regular in the pilot episode, "The Seinfeld Chronicles", playing the waitress Claire at Pete's Luncheonette. When the series was picked up, however, it was decided that having the female lead be from such a different social status compared to the rest of the cast would be unworkable, so the character of Claire was dropped and replaced by Elaine Benes.
In 2018, she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Darlene in Broken.
Sidney (Sid) Ganis (born January 8, 1940) is an American motion picture executive and producer who has produced such films as Big Daddy, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Mr. Deeds, The Master of Disguise and Akeelah and the Bee, Bang: The Bert Berns Story and Olympia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bonita Friedericy is an American actress. She currently can be seen in the television series Chuck as NSA Director Diane Beckman. She has also appeared on Veronica Mars, Star Trek: Enterprise, Bones, The Nine, The West Wing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and in the film Christmas with the Kranks.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Bonita Friedericy, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe (born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notable roles included as a motion-capture model in the animated film The Polar Express (2004), Robin Wheeler in the Cartoon Network television series Out of Jimmy's Head (2007–2008), and a recurring role in the CBS series Two and a Half Men (2008–2009).
