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Metallica’s James Hetfield Cast in Western With Peter Dinklage
Metallica‘s James Hetfield is set to add to his acting resume, taking on an unspecified role in the upcoming dark western film The Thicket.
According to Deadline, the film will star and is being produced by Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage and features a cast that includes Juliette Lewis (Yellowjackets), Esmé Creed-Miles (Hanna), Levon Hawke (The Crowded Room), Leslie Grace (In The Heights), Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Old Man), Macon Blair (I Care A Lot), Ned Dennehy (Peaky Blinders), Andrew Schulz (Infamous), Arliss Howard (Mank) and the Metallica frontman Hetfield.
The film, which is being created for Tubi, has already begun principal photography. Dinklage has been attached to the project for a decade now, with the film being based off one of 2013’s best historical fiction books penned by Joe R. Lansdale.
Per Deadline, the plot follows an innocent young man, Jack (Hawke), who goes on an epic quest to rescue his sister Lula (Creed-Miles) after she has been kidnapped by the violent killer Cut Throat Bill (Lewis) and her gang. To save her, Jack enlists the help of a crafty bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage), a grave-digging alcoholic son of an ex-slave (Akinnagbe), and a street-smart prostitute (Grace). The gang tracks Cut Throat Bill into the deadly no-man’s land known as The Big Thicket — a place where blood and chaos reign.
Hetfield has appeared on the big screen before in an acting capacity, taking on the role of Officer Bob Hayward in the 2019 film about serial killer Ted Bundy, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. He’s also appeared as himself in the Showtime series Billions, on FOX’s long-running animated series The Simpsons and in the Metallica-centered films Metallica Through the Never and Metallica Some Kind of Monster. He’s also served as a narrator on 2017’s Addicted to Porn documentary and for the History Channel series The Hunt.
These days, Hetfield has also been getting in plenty of work in front of the camera as Metallica have already dropped three new songs and videos from their upcoming 72 Seasons album. The new song “If Darkness Had a Son” arrived earlier this week. 72 Seasons will be out everywhere April 14. Pre-order your copy here, and get tickets to Metallica’s upcoming tour at this location.