When Jon Hamm isn't eating Cool Whip on "Mad Men" or offering advice to teen girls, he's a killer supporting player in movies. From "The Town" to "Bridesmaids" to "Friends With Kids," Hamm has become a go-to character actor -- this despite his matinee-idol good looks and easy charm.
Now, according to Deadline.com, Hamm will finally have a chance to show off his leading-man bona fides on the big screen. The six-time Emmy nominee is attached to play the lead role in Disney's "Million Dollar Arm."
The film -- which was written by beloved indie actor-slash-screenwriter Thomas McCarthy ("Win Win") -- tells the true-life tale of sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Hamm), who created an India-based reality show about cricket to find two high-value baseball prospects. Called "The Million Dollar Arm," the show auditioned some 40,000 cricket players before Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel were chosen as winner and runner-up, respectively. They became the first two Indian men to sign contracts with Major League Baseball.
Unfortunately, while the story does have a happy ending, neither Singh or Patel have played in the majors yet.
As for Hamm, "Million Dollar Arm" seems like a perfect feature for the "Mad Men" star to lead (think "Jerry Maguire" mixed with "Moneyball"), and not just because of his prior baseball experience. Hamm famously tried to walk onto the University of Texas baseball team, and is a fixture at celebrity softball events. Which means something?
For more on "Million Dollar Arm," including why Bernstein decided to create the reality show, head over to Deadline.com
[via Deadline.com]
