When basketball fans were speculating about where LeBron James would land this summer, part of the reason Los Angeles seemed like a likely destination was the basketball god’s presumed interest in becoming an actor.
Now, before he’s even suited up for the Lakers, we get our first indication that LeBron’s acting aspirations did indeed play a role in his move west. Variety is reporting this week that the four-time NBA MVP is in talks for his first starring Hollywood starring role.
The report is light on details, but we do know that the script, which has been sold to Paramount, was written by Steve Mallory, the guy behind the 2016 Melissa McCarthy vehicle The Boss. The movie’s also being produced by LeBron’s own company SpringHill Entertainment.
Variety has no plot details in its report, but the URL calls it a “body swapping comedy.” And we’ve got a pretty good idea who his co-star could be too.
At this point in his acting career, LeBron is the equivalent of a NBA rookie. He’s done a handful of cartoon voices and he hosted Saturday Night Live in 2007.
His most prominent on-screen role though was as himself in Trainwreck. LeBron killed it in 2015 Amy Schumer comedy, winning praise from critics for being something athletes so rarely are: actually funny.
Even Judd Apaptow, who directed the movie, thought so. “LeBron is a very strong actor, and he has a fantastic sense of humor,” he said. “We do a lot of improvisation, and he was really good at it. As a result, it’s a really fun, wild, slightly strange performance that really scores.”