By Samantha Ho
LeBron James, four time NBA most valuable player, two time NBA championship winner, two time Olympian, and star player for the Florida team Miami Heat, has decided to try his hand at acting. The basketball player has reportedly signed on to star in Judd Apatow’s upcoming film Trainwreck. Apatow, who announced the news via Twitter (as one does these days), is best known for his work on comedy films such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up and television programs like Freaks and Geeks and Girls. His most recent film, This is 40, a continuation/spinoff of Knocked Up, opened to mixed critical reception. In addition to lending his talents as director, the film will be produced by Apatow Productions.
This isn’t the first film James has been tied to– in addition to a scheduled appearance in the Universal picture Ballers, co-starring Kevin Hart, Universal will also be producing a film about James’ high school years, with Terence and Rachel Winter, both recent Oscar nominees, attached to produce.
While little is known about the actual plot, one is inclined to be skeptical at the prospect of a famous non-actor attempting to act. Many have tried it, from Ice Cube to David Bowie to Katy Perry. Some have been more successful than others, but this is far from the first time Hollywood has tried to produce a film starring a basketball player. One of the more admirable examples comes in the form of James’ teammate Ray Allen, who made his film debut in Spike Lee’s 1998 feature He Got Game playing the role of a high school basketball player opposite Denzel Washington. Legendary basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jubbar had a memorable turn as food poisoned co-pilot Roger Murdock in the classic 1980 satire Airplane! Of course, no one could forget the two most famous NBA player vehicles, Space Jam and Kazaam, starring Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal, respectively. Both films are generally considered critical disasters, but Space Jam was a major commercial success (Kazaam did not experience such good luck– it failed to break even at box office). Needless to say, while most consider the films memorable in a negative way, some fans believe that the films offer just the right amount of bizarre ‘90s camp to satisfy their nostalgic cravings.
According to Variety, Jordan will join a large cast that includes Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Barkhad Abdi, Mike Birbiglia, Jon Glaser, Vanessa Bayer, John Cena, Ezra Miller, Tilda Swinton, Method Man, Amy Schumer (who also penned the script), and, of course, LeBron James. From the casting, it appears that Apatow, who usually works with a rotating cast of regulars including the likes of Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig, will be adding a wave of new collaborations to his list. The jury is still out on James’ potential as a thespian, but with experienced names like Apatow’s and Swinton’s behind the project, there’s still hope yet.
It is currently scheduled for a July 2015 release.