John Mulaney's newest movie role will bring him back to the same material he worked on during one of the lowest points in his career. It's a full-circle moment that likely isn't lost on the former Saturday Night Live writer.
Per Deadline, comedian John Mulaney has joined the cast of the upcoming biopic on John Madden. Directed by David O. Russell, the movie stars Nicolas Cage as the legnedary football coach who later lent his name to the iconic video game franchise.
Mulaney will play Trip Hawkins, founder of EA Sports and a pivotal figure in helping Madden become the video game juggernaut played by millions of gamers around the world. But, it won't be Mulaney's first collaboration with EA Sports.
Roughly a decade ago, Mulaney found himself in a career valley. He'd left Saturday Night Live with hopes of leading his own sitcom. NBC ultimately passed on the pilot Mulaney created, produced, wrote, and starred in.
Mulaney needed work the following summer and took a gig writing commercials for Madden 13. The spots featured NFL legend and actor Paul Rudd playing together, and the spots were largely well-received.
Now, Mulaney finds himself back working with EA Sports and jumping headfirst into the world of Madden. His co-stars will include Christian Bale as Raiders owner Al Davis, Kathryn Hahn as John Madden's wife, and Sienna Miller as Al Davis' wife.
John Mulaney's chat with Ray Lewis made a difference
On the April 9 episode of Everybody's Live with John Mulaney, the comedian recalled his experience working on the Madden commercials. He admitted he didn't know much about football or video games, making it challenging to get the tone write or add his sense of humor to the ads.
It was during a break in filming that Ray Lewis gave Mulaney some advice on perseverance and self-confidence. The comedian even went so far as to credit the talk with inspiring him to push his agents to sell the failed pilot elsewhere.
Ultimately, Fox picked up Mulaney and aired the sitcom for all of 13 episodes. The show didn't work out, but John Mulaney's career didn't exactly suffer. His role in the John Madden biopic marks his largest film role to date and creates a full-circle moment.