Where to watch The Butler(2013)

Where to stream The Butler

Data updated on October 10, 2026. Availability data from JustWatch.

The Butler plot summary

One quiet voice can ignite a revolution.

Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

Details

Release date

August 16, 2013

Runtime

2h 12m

Genres

Drama

Directed by

Lee Daniels

Country

United States

TMDB rating

7.3 / 10 · 3,087 votes

The Butler trailer

▶

Cast

• Forest WhitakerCecil Gaines
• Oprah WinfreyGloria Gaines
• David OyelowoLouis Gaines
• John CusackRichard Nixon
• Jane FondaNancy Reagan
• Cuba Gooding Jr.Carter Wilson
• Mariah CareyHattie Pearl
• Terrence HowardHoward
• Lenny KravitzJames Holloway
• Aml AmeenCecil Gaines (15)

FAQ

If you like The Butler, you may also like

• All the Way2016
• The Assassination of Richard Nixon2004
• Selma2014
• Reagan2024
• W.2008
• Bombshell2019
• The Best of Enemies2019
• Richard Jewell2019
• The Banker2020
• Rosewood1997
• The Rat Pack1998
• The Long Walk Home1990