LeBron James is leaving the jumpshot at home and picking up a movie script as he heads to set.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Cleveland Cavalier explains his recent adventure into Hollywood. Most recently, he co-starred in the upcoming Amy Schumer movie, Trainwreck and the actor explained his acting experience.
James admits that he was as anxious on the New York City set ofTrainwreck as he was for his very first NBA game. Last summer on a Nike promotional trip to China, he had his entourage — Carter, Mims — read the other characters. “I was just trying to stay ready,” he recalls. “I was very nervous — all the way to the point where they said, ‘Action.’ “
The director argues that LeBron James is a talented actor.
“We tested the movie, and he gets laughter as big as anyone,” says Apatow. “The only fear you ever have with people of his stature is whether or not they’re game to have fun and take chances. They’ll say: ‘I don’t want to say that. That will sound weird. That’s not good for my reputation.’ LeBron is a very strong actor, and he has a fantastic sense of humor. 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.”
Overall, it looks like LeBron James is preparing to take over Hollywood.
His stardom already has opened doors in Hollywood. Spring Hill Productions, named for the housing complex James moved into with his mother when he was in sixth grade, is growing a portfolio of TV and digital projects where ownership and creative control are elemental: the Disney series Becoming; the Starz scripted dramedySurvivor’s Remorse; the reality show Uninterrupted for Turner’s digital platform Bleacher Report; a trivia game-show pilot for NBC. Sources say the company is close to finalizing a deal for a series show on CNBC — which has had success in primetime with reruns of Shark Tank — that will have James and Carter leading the transformation of distressed businesses. And they also are talking to executives at NBCUniversal’s male-targeted Esquire Network about a “bucket list” show featuring James.
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