John C. Reilly Will Star in HBO's Lakers Pilot
Deadline reports that John C. Reilly will take over a role originally given to Michael Shannon on an upcoming HBO pilot about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers. Shannon departed the project based on creative differences.
Adam McKay produces and directed the pilot.
The series is based on Jeff Pearlman's book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s. It follows the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers, one of sports' most revered and dominant dynasties - a team that won five NBA titles and defined its era, both on and off the court.
Reilly's will play coach Jerry Buss, a self-made millionaire whose success has only amplified his proclivity for risk. Buss redefines American sports, celebrity and wealth by transforming the Lakers into a dynasty, but his house of cards threatens to collapse on him - and the people he loves most.
Reilly played Amos in the Oscar-winning film adaptation of "Chicago." He's also starred in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and played the titular role in "Wreck-It Ralph" and its sequel, "Ralph Breaks the Internet." He starred on Broadway in a 2005 revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" as Stanley Kowalski, and in "Marty," "True West," and "The Grapes of Wrath."
Read the original story on Deadline.
