. >> much of "12 years a slave's" narrative and dialogue come from the biography of andrew northup.the start, mcgeen knew who he wanted to play solomon northup. when they offered you this, you said no. >> yeah, i took a moment. i had never seen a film from inside this experience, from insi inside the slave experience. and i felt the responsibility of it and i needed to kind of have, you know, a kind of moment to work out just how to get there. >> why did you have to get there? >> he reminds me of harry belafonte. sid ney portier. he has that dignity in him. and he carries it in an environment which is to be humane. and to me, he's the only one that has that quality. >> crushed by intolerable circumstances, he fights for more than freedom. >> he's having a battle with his soul. he's trying to hold it together. it's difficult for someone to hang on to their mind. their battle climaxes with the slave of the young slave patsy, the role for which mcqueen chose hundreds of actors, played by lupita ns a -- >> there were days i thought would never find someone. i wanted a breeze on the back