Booker T's Main Event Mafia Character Was Inspired By A Forest Whitaker Movie

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has worn many hats over his 20-plus year wrestling career. But in 2006, that figurative hat turned to a literal crown when he won the 2006 WWE King of the Ring tournament, thus becoming "King Booker." It was a character he played until he was granted his release in October 2007, and it came with an admittedly strange accent.

The character work wouldn't end in 2007, however. Booker departed for Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling, now known as Impact, and went on to become part of the TNA faction known as "The Main Event Mafia" alongside the likes of Kurt Angle, Sting, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Samoa Joe, Traci Brooks, and his real-life wife, Sharmell. Much like King Booker, the character he played during his time in the Main Event Mafia also had an accent, and in an interview in October 2021 (via comingsoon.net), Booker explained how the idea of an accent survived the jump to a new promotion, and credited a particular Forest Whitaker role for the inspiration.

"Last King of Scotland was a character that I studied when I was doing King Booker," Booker T said, citing the 2006 historical drama in which Whitaker plays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.  "So when I went to TNA, I said, 'I want to do something. I want to have like an African accident (sic).' And I thought it was cool because with wrestling, wrestling is to be embellished."

Booker stressed how important it was to not take wrestling "too serious" while still striving to find a balance.

"If you take wrestling too serious you can really lose focus on what it really is, but you gotta take it serious at the same time," he said. "So it's really a balancing act there when you're trying to entertain fans. For me, that's what I am. I'm an entertainer."

During his time between WCW, WWE, and TNA, Booker T held championship gold 35 times, primarily in World Championship Wrestling. He would become known for referring to himself as a five-time world champion, but that changed when he won the World Heavyweight Championship at WWE's Great American Bash in 2006 — under the King Booker persona.