Oprah’s Apple TV+ Documentary Celebrating Sidney Poitier Is Here
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Among his many accomplishments, Sidney Poitier became the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, in 1963. In the wake of his death on January 6, 2022, at the age of 94, Poitier’s legacy was celebrated by revisiting words of wisdom gleaned from his memoir (an Oprah’s Book Club pick!) and his filmography.
Premiering on Apple TV+ and in theaters on September 23, 2022, the forthcoming documentary simply titled Sidney will provide an even more comprehensive look into his life and impact on culture. Over a year in the making, Sidney was executive produced by Oprah, Poitier’s longtime friend, and directed by Reginald Hudlin, who also directed The Black Godfather and Marshall. It also features candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Morgan Freeman, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee, and many more.
Oprah and Poitier first met in 2000 on The Oprah Winfrey Show, though you could say their relationship began in 1964, when Oprah, then 10, watched Poitier accept the Academy Award for his performance in Lilies of the Field. “In my spirit I knew that because you had won the Oscar, I, too, could do something special—and I didn’t even know what it was,” Oprah told Poitier during their first meeting. “I thought, If he can be that, I wonder what I can be.”
Poitier and Oprah had multiple public exchanges following that meeting. Poitier surprised her during the 20th anniversary celebration of The Oprah Winfrey Show, joined her for a two-part episode of Master Class, and sat down with her after she selected his memoir, The Measure of a Man, for her book club in 2007. The documentary, in a way, continues the work Oprah has done to shine a light on Poitier’s life story, and the values and principles he picked up along the way.
Though Poitier was born in Miami in 1927, he spent most of his childhood on a small island in the Bahamas. The child of impoverished tomato farmers, Poitier dropped out of school at the age of 13, following just a year and a half of in-class education. Speaking to Oprah in 2000 for O, The Oprah Magazine, Poitier discussed how he maintained his sense of self as he adjusted to culture shock in the United States.
“When I arrived at the age of 15, almost everything I heard said to me, ‘There are different values here. Here, you are not the person you think you are.’ But I came with 15 years of preparation. I was strong enough to say to myself, ‘The me that I’ve been for 15 years—I like that me! That's a free me. I can’t adjust to being a restricted me,’” he said.
Following an extraordinary progression, Poitier moved to New York, where he learned to read and worked odd jobs all while pursuing a career as an actor. He became virtually the only Black film star of the 1950s and ’60s. With his roles in The Defiant Ones, 1958; A Raisin in the Sun, 1961; Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, 1967; and To Sir, With Love, 1967, Poitier transformed how Black characters were portrayed in Hollywood, and had a major role in reshaping culture.
“He was hugely influential. This is an actor who changed the minds of many white people about Black people. About seeing Black people as complex human beings. He paved the way for so many generations of Black actors to follow. There were very few models for him—but he was the model,” film professor Jacqueline Stewart said on a PBS program commemorating Poitier.
Upon Poitier’s death, Oprah reflected on his life and the impact he made on hers. “For me, the greatest of the ‘Great Trees’ has fallen,” Oprah said. “My honor to have loved him as a mentor. Friend. Brother. Confidant. Wisdom teacher.” Washington, who was the second Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, shared, “He was a gentle man and opened doors for all of us that had been closed for years.”
Hudlin, who is directing the forthcoming Apple TV+ documentary, also provided his take on Poitier’s impact. “Sidney Poitier defined manhood, he defined excellence, class and elegance. He represented the best of Black experience, the immigrant experience, the artistic journey and the American Dream,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ahead of the documentary's release on Friday, you can watch the official trailer above and hear more about Poitier’s life in his own words, as well as his conversations with Oprah.
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