Kelsey Grammer to Play Villain in TRANSFORMERS 4

Kelsey Grammer is about to get evil.

According to Deadline, the actor best known for playing 'Frasier Crane' has signed on to play the lead human villain in Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS 4. He joins Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Jack Reynor, and Nicola Peltz.

Grammer will play a counter intelligence officer named 'Harold Attinger.'

For the original report, head on over to Deadline.

Ehren Kruger's script for the fourth film acts as a bit of a reexamination of the series, centering on an adult (Wahlberg) and his teenaged daughter (Peltz), with the latter set up to take over the franchise. A new take is probably necessary, as the TRANSFORMERS series has generally been panned by critics in its later endeavors. Regardless, each film has brought in box office record busting numbers.

"We are embarking on a new trilogy," Bay recently wrote on his official blog, squashing rumors that the latest TRANSFORMERS outing would be a reboot of the franchise. Instead, it will pick up four years after 2011's DARK OF THE MOON.

"The story makes a very natural transition, and reason as to why we have a whole new cast. This Transformers will feel very different then the last three."

Production on TRANSFORMERS 4 will begin in July. The film is set for release on June 29, 2014.

Grammer, who starred for two seasons on the critically acclaimed Boss, is now looking at a fairly open schedule after STARZ cancelled the series. In addition to directing nearly 40 episodes of Frasier, Grammer's other directing credits include Everybody Hates Chris; Out of Practice; My Ex Life; Alligator Point; and Hank. Grammer most recently voiced the character of the Tin Man in Dorothy of Oz and just finished acting in the feature film Reach Me, both slated for 2013.

Grammer has appeared on Broadway in La Cage aux Folles, Macbeth and Othello. His off-Broadway credits include Sunday in the Park with George at Playwrights Horizons, Quartermaine's Terms and Plenty.

Photo by: Walter McBride