Hamilton native Bo Burnham will reportedly play Larry Bird in Adam McKay’s new HBO series
The actor/director/comedian joins Lowell native Michael Chiklis in the cast.
Related Links
Bo Burnham has some big shoes to fill.
The award-winning actor/director/comedian (“Eighth Grade”) and Hamilton native has been cast as legendary Celtics forward Larry Bird in Adam McKay’s upcoming HBO drama series about the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s, per multiple reports.
Based on Jeff Pearlman’s book “Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,” the series will chronicle “the professional and personal lives” of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, according to HBO.
Burnham, who stands 6’5 1/2, according to IMDb, was most recently seen in the Oscar-nominated black comedy “Promising Young Woman.” Burnham, who got his start as a teenager composing comedy songs on YouTube, was also reported to be working on writing songs for an upcoming “Sesame Street” movie.
News of Burnham’s casting comes shortly after HBO announced that another local — Lowell native Michael Chiklis — will play Celtics coach/executive Red Auerbach in the series. Other top-line stars for the show include Sally Field (“Forrest Gump”) as Jessie Buss, Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”) as Pat Riley, John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) as Jerry Buss, and Jason Clarke (“Chappaquiddick”) as Jerry West. Newcomer Quincy Isaiah will play Magic Johnson, while Rob Morgan (“Mudbound”), who also stars in McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” will play Earvin Johnson Sr.
The untitled series is expected to be released in 2022 and will be written by Max Borenstein (“Godzilla”).
Get Boston.com's browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com