Metallica’s James Hetfield To Make Acting Debut In Ted Bundy Biopic
Metallica frontman James Hetfield has joined the cast of Zac Efron’s new Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile.
The heavy metal icon will portray Bob Hayward, the first police officer to arrest the serial killer. Hayward pulled Bundy over for a driving infraction in Utah in 1975 and discovered odd tools in his car. The suspicious cop wisely decided to investigate further.
Hetfield has appeared in other films and television shows, including the Showtime series Billions in 2016. But his role in the Ted Bundy film marks the first time the singer will portray a character.
The film’s director, Joe Berlinger, previously took charge of Metallica’s acclaimed rock documentary Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster and also wrote a book about the band.
Announcing his decision to add Hetfield to the cast list, the moviemaker said in a statement: “Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up. It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled.”
James Hetfield joins a cast that includes Efron, Jim Parsons, Haley Joel Osment, Lily Collins, John Malkovich, Kaya Scodelario, Angela Sarafyan, Jeffrey Donovan, and Dylan Baker.
The Big Bang Theory star Parsons recently signed on to play Larry Simpson, who led prosecutors throughout the 1979 trial which ended with Bundy’s conviction, while Maze Runner star Kaya Scodelario will play the serial killer’s ex-wife and Collins his girlfriend.
“I am thrilled to be able to tell this story with many of my favorite actors, all of who bring the authenticity we want to tell this story,” director Berlinger adds.
Extremely Wicked, Shocking Evil And Vile is currently in production and no release date has yet been decided upon.
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