{Exclusive} “Angry Birds” Star Jason Sudeikis Recruited For High School Basketball Drama “Amateur”

〉 The Race star will apply his love of basketball to his latest dramatic role.

SNL alum Jason Sudeikis is pursuing another dramatic venture with his latest project, AMATEUR. The drama will be directed by Ryan Koo from his own script, which is also based on his 2013 short film of the same name.

The story centers on a talented basketball player who struggles to fit in with older players on his high school team, and his new coach. Sudeikis will play the coach, opposite Wood Harris and up-and-comer Michael Rainey Jr. in the lead. Harris recently appeared in Creed, while Rainey Jr. is perhaps best known for his role in Lee Daniel’s The Butler.

Jason Michael Berman is producing for Mandalay Pictures alongside Chip Hourihan, with Netflix financing and taking global distribution. The film also marks the feature film debut for rising director Koo.

This marks yet another departure from Sudeikis’s comedy wheelhouse, having recently appeared in the Jesse Owens biopic Race. Sudeikis received critical acclaim for his performance, which also saw him in the role of a coach. Sudeikis is known to be not only a basketball fan, but an excellent player himself with notable appearances in NBA All-Star games – experience he will undoubtedly bring to the Amateur roll.

Sudeikis can currently be seen in the Fox comedy The Last Man on Earth opposite Will Forte. He’ll next be heard as the voice of Red in The Angry Birds Movie. Sudeikis is also part of the ensemble cast of Garry Marshall’s upcoming Mother’s Day. 

Amateur is currently in pre-production, with filming expected to start this spring.

Sudeikis is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment.

—TO SEE ALL THE PROJECT DETAILS CLICK HERE—

Josh Lyons | Managing Editor