Paul Stanley Ponders What Actor Should Play Him in Upcoming KISS Biopic
KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley has a lot to think about when it comes to what actor will play him in the biographical film about the band that’s reportedly coming to Netflix, Shout It Out Loud.
The musician delved into one crucial aspect of that imminent casting search — the age range of the screen star who will portray him — in a video interview with Download Festival’s Reloaded this week (June 1). Speaking with host Kylie Olsson, the KISS icon was upfront about his expectations for the actor.
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
“For casting to be accurate in terms of age,” Stanley explained, “we are looking at actors in their early 20s. Honestly, I don’t know a whole lot of actors in their early 20s.” [via Blabbermouth]
The rocker continued, “When people get asked these kinds of questions, they’ll say, ‘Oh, Brad Pitt,’ or this one or that one. Well, those guys are in their 50s or 60s, so you’re talking about another generation of actors. And I’m the first to say I’m not up on a lot of them. But as the casting process goes on, I’ll certainly be there and watching. It’ll be interesting to see how … the casting people or the director … view who I am and who they see doing that. I think I’ll learn a lot about their perception of me by who they cast.”
On top of that, the KISS member is keeping an eye on other aspects of the production, as well. And he seemed confident that the team they’d assembled so far is primed to do a bang-up job.
“The script was really good,” Stanley shared. “And we really waited until we felt comfortable. … You get once chance to do it, and I would rather not do it than do it half assed or poorly. Our director is the real deal. He did Maleficent 2 (Joachim Ronning), and he’s not some hack — he knows how to make movies. It should be great. Casting hasn’t begun yet, but that will be interesting too.”
As the KISS biopic is still early in the stages, there are few other details so far. However, Netflix reportedly took part in a recent bidding war to release the film. The movie’s script comes from writer Ole Sanders, who is said to have worked closely with both Stanley and the performer’s fellow KISS co-leader, Gene Simmons.
Stanley confirmed the initial announcement of the film in April by simply resharing an article about the movie on Twitter, adding the comment, “True!”
The rock band’s signature concert anthems are expected to be utilized in the flick set to cover Stanley and Simmons’ early friendship and KISS’ enlistment of musicians Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, among other points from throughout the group’s storied history. A release date for the movie has not yet been revealed.