Samuel Jackson to play Martin Luther King

Samuel Jackson has been cast as Martin Luther King, Jr in the Broadway production of the play "The Mountaintop".

According to Huffington Post, it is a dramatic exploration of the Nobel Prize-winning civil rights leader's final night before being assassinated.

The production, which opened two years ago in London and won the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Play, will open in October in New York. Jackson had long been rumored to star; rumored co-star Halle Berry was unable to join due to her ongoing child custody issues with ex Gabriel Aubry.