Irish actor may play the baseball superstar…
Mike Fleming over at Deadline is hearing that Casey Affleck has set his sights on Wicklow native Jack Reynor (‘Glassland,’ ‘What Richard Did’) for the lead in his biopic of baseball slugger Josh Hamilton.
Based on the book that Hamilton co-authored, ‘Beyond Belief: Finding The Strength To Come Back,’ the film will tell of Hamilton’s rise and fall then his rise again. A bonafide prodigy by age 15, Hamilton was the first player chosen in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft, signing with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a record $4 million. But the slugger’s career was derailed in 2001 after a car accident rendered him unfit to play baseball. Without the game to anchor his days, Hamilton filled his time with a vicious cycle of drugs and booze.
After facing his demons and committing to recovery, he resurrected his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007, before moving to the Texas Rangers the following season. Slipping occasionally with alcohol along the way, Hamilton has taken the long road back to redemption by reclaiming his outsized talent and regaining the trust of his family.
Basil Iwanyk, Kevin Walsh and Affleck will produce, with Thunder Road’s Kent Kubena serving as executive producer. Hamilton and his wife Katie are co-producing alongside Hamilton’s business manager Steve Reed.
Reynor will next be seen starring alongside Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz in ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ when it hits Irish cinemas July 5th.