The movie “The Soloist,” (like that other black actor, Will Smith, and his Oscar nominated ), is based on the true story of a homeless person.
This time the character is a musical prodigy, Nathaniel Ayers, who developed schizophrenia in his second year at Juilliard and ends up homeless on the streets of downtown L.A. where he performs the violin and cello. The drama is based on the relationship the musician developed with Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times reporter whose column about “The Soloist” inspired the movie script. Lopez is played by Robert Downey Jr. – who was most recently nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role – as a black man – in
