Professional wrestling stars have been crossing over into Hollywood for years. While Hulk Hogan never quite made it as a full-fledged movie star, unless you count No Holds Barred of course, stars like The Rock, Batista, and John Cena have become reliable A-list figures. And now AEW star MJF is looking to join them.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is one of the faces of All Elite Wrestling and has emerged as their most well-known home grown product. And even though he’s been in the national spotlight for just a few years, he’s already parlayed that into multiple movie roles. Including a report that indicates he’s joined the cast of the long-awaited Happy Gilmore sequel from Adam Sandler.
Via Deadline:
Professional wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman, aka MJF, of AEW fame is the latest to join the cast in Netflix‘s Happy Gilmore 2, starring Adam Sandler.
Details of his role are under wraps, as is the sequel’s plot. Others on board include Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald, who reprise their respective roles as Virginia Venit and Shooter McGavin, the love interest and pro golfer antagonist of Adam Sandler’s title character. Recently, Sandler has also teased that Travis Kelce is on board for a cameo, with production now underway and Bad Bunny has also joined the cast.
MJF played a prominent role on screen and off in the production of the acclaimed film The Iron Claw, based on the real life tragedy that unfolded in the famed Von Erich family. He also recently took part in two other projects in The Floaters and Stranglehold according to Deadline.
Friedman is the longest-reigning AEW world champion in company history, holding the promotion’s top title for 406 days between 2022-2023. He was last seen at the September 7th All Out event where he defeated Daniel Garcia. AEW’s ratings and attendance have gone down over the last year, but if MJF can become a crossover star thanks to roles like Happy Gilmore 2, hopefully that will help the promotion get a much needed boost.
[Deadline]
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