Up and coming Irish actor Jack Reynor is in talks to star in a Josh Hamilton biopic. Written and directed by Casey Affleck (I’m Still Here), the film will cover baseball player Josh Hamilton’s experience slipping in and out of a crack cocaine addiction.
Relativity acquired the rights to adapt Hamilton’s autobiography, Beyond Belief: Finding The Strength To Come Back. The book highlights how one moment of powerlessness turned into a four year struggle with drugs and alcohol, resulting in a suspension from baseball. Although this derailed Hamilton from a few years of success, his major-league career was only placed on pause. By re-shifting his values from drugs and alcohol to faith and family, he was able to successfully renew his career. Hamilton hit 35 home runs the following year, placed second in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby in 2008 (after posting one of the best rounds in the history of the event), and is now a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Following his suspension, Hamilton was kicked out by his wife and worked at a baseball training facility. At this facility, he cleaned toilets and mowed the grass. It was at this low point that Hamilton realized how important it was to cherish internal strength.
Reynor is known for his role in Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did (2012), a film following a similar theme about a Dublin athlete who successfully faces the challenge of a mistake. His upcoming roles include Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, which hits theatres this weekend. He will also be featured in Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, Gerard Barett’s Glassland, and Julian Jarrold’s Girl’s Night Out.
This biopic seems like an inspirational sports tearjerker, similar to John Lee Hancock’s The Blind Side (2009) and The Rookie (2002).
Look forward to watching the baseball player’s journey from striking out to hitting home.
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