Sam Elliott has landed a new role on Peacock’s upcoming MacGruber series. He’ll star alongside Laurence Fishburne and Mickey Rourke. The eight-episode series will find MacGruber (Will Forte) released from prison. Now, he has a new mission: to take on an enemy from the past. Sam Elliott will play Perry, MacGruber’s father. The two will try and reconnect after drifting apart.
Elliott has been in a massive amount of projects over the decades he’s been in the entertainment industry. He recently received a long-overdue Oscar nomination for his work on A Star is Born.
The Oscar-nominated actor has also performed in many other films and shows. From his hilarious hippie character on Parks and Rec to his roles on The Big Lebowski and The Hero, Sam Elliot has wowed audiences.
In fact, the actor doesn’t like to take roles he doesn’t believe in, either. He’s even gone as far as saying he’s never done a job just for the money, even when he’s doing beef advertisements.
“To me, it’s all about what’s on the page,” he told The Guardian in 2017. “It’s not about working for money. It’s just something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid.”
That’s a good sign for MacGruber. Clearly, he saw something in the MacGruber script.
MacGruber is Based on An ‘SNL’ Character, Sam Elliott to Join Big Cast
Elliott, Fishburne, and Rourke will join a cast with a history on Saturday Night Live. Where Will Forte initially created the MacGruber character. Will forte will play Macgruber. Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillipe will also join. MacGruber is ironically described as “America’s ultimate hero and uberpatriot.”
In fact, after SNL, MacGruber got picked up for a film, where the character battled nemesis Dieter Von Cunth. The film didn’t bring in too much revenue, however, grossing at $9 million in theatres with a $10 million budget.
Will Forte will write and executive produce the series along with John Solomon. Sam Elliott’s role as MacGruber’s father could add an important layer to the film.
MacGruber will air on Peacock, NBC’s (relatively) new streaming service. The service has hosted other originals such as Girls5Eva, Punky Brewster, and Intergalactic. Peacock has joined an incredibly fierce competition between streaming services. It stands out by being the only competitive service to have a free option. Hopefully for them, MacGruber will bring more subscribers to the platform.
You can watch the announcement trailer below:
