Here’s yet another upside to the Akira shutdown (beyond the immediate benefit of the project hopefully just not getting made in its current, bizarrely tone-deaf state) – its star Garrett Hedlund is negotiating for a role in a film that actually sounds somewhat suitable for him. Imagine that!
Variety reports that, with Hedlund’s schedule currently much more open post-Akira-shutdown-gate, he’s negotiating for a role in the Coen Brothers‘ next film, Inside Llewyn Davis. The film is already set to star Oscar Isaac in the titular role, and follows the character of Davis, a 60s folk singer based on Dave Van Ronk. While Hedlund’s role is not yet specified, the film is set during the 1960s in New York’s Greenwich Village and will likely be populated with a number of characters that, like Isaac’s, will be based on famous performers. While Hedlund might have underwhelmed in Tron: Legacy, his singing work in Country Strong was lovely and more than capable, and he exhibited a true country twang that should cross over nicely to a folk singer role.
The film will also star Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Jeanine Serralles, and F. Murray Abraham.
Hedlund will next be seen in Walter Salles’ On the Road adaptation, which co-stars Kristen Stewart and Sam Riley. Hedlund will be play Dean Moriarty, author Jack Kerouac’s pseudonym for Neal Cassady. While I cannot say I am excited for that film, I’m curious to see what sort of work all three leads can turn in for a film that seems primed to exhibit talents they’ve yet to get a chance to really show off. [Variety, via Cinema Blend]