| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Don Cheadle | ... | ||
| Chiwetel Ejiofor | ... | ||
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Bruce McFee | ... |
Prison Sign-In Guard
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| Mike Epps | ... | ||
| Peter MacNeill | ... | ||
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Adam Gaudreau | ... |
Escorting Guard
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| Taraji P. Henson | ... | ||
| Cedric the Entertainer | ... | ||
| Martin Sheen | ... | ||
| J. Miles Dale | ... |
Program Director
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Sean MacMahon | ... | |
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Richard Chevolleau | ... | |
| Martin Randez | ... | ||
| Todd Schroeder | ... |
Guard Captain
(as Todd William Schroeder)
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| Vondie Curtis-Hall | ... |
Sunny Jim Kelsey
(as Vondie Curtis Hall)
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The true life story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr. In the mid-to-late 1960s, in Washington, D.C., vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. It was the place and time for Petey to fully express himself - sometimes to outrageous effect - and "tell it like it is." With the support of his irrepressible and tempestuous girlfriend Vernell, the newly minted ex-con talks his way into an on-air radio gig. He forges a friendship and a partnership with fellow prison inmate Milo's brother Dewey Hughes. From the first wild morning on the air, Petey relies on the more straight-laced Dewey to run interference at WOL-AM, where Dewey is the program director. At the station, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing even the established popularity of his fellow disc jockeys, Nighthawk and Sunny Jim. Combining biting humor with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for station owner E.G. Sonderling. Petey was ... Written by Focus Features
As Ralph Waldo Petey Greene Jr., who became a one-man inner-city media explosion in Washington, D.C., starting in the late '60s, Don Cheadle is superb. Petey doesn't just say that word he means it. He wins over Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the slick, smart program director who is revealed to be a lot less of an stiff than he appears. Directed by Kasi Lemmons , Talk to Me digs into the relationship between Petey and Dewey, whose love/hate relationship is fascinating to watch. The two actors are marvelous. As crazy as he looks in those suits, Cheadle's never looks anything but cool. The rest of the cast is solid, but they mostly stay out of the way of the leads.