Bernie lookalikes – here’s your chance to play Sanders in upcoming biopic
“We are seeking an actor who does a killer version of Bernie Sanders. Must be able to capture his voice and general mannerisms," say the producers of Bernie Sanders' potential upcoming film.
By HANNAH BROWNDemocratic U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders announces introduction of public housing legislation as part of the Green New Deal in Washington, U.S. November 14, 2019(photo credit: ERIN SCOTT/REUTERS)
If you’re a loud, opinionated older man with a Brooklyn accent, then Hollywood is calling – for you to play Bernie Sanders in an upcoming biopic.The New York Post’s Cindy Adams reported in her column on Tuesday that “a nationwide casting call” has gone out for a Sanders imitator to play the progressive Vermont senator, who is currently leading the pack in the upcoming Iowa Democratic caucuses for the presidential nomination, in something called The Bernie Movie.She quotes the producers as saying, “We are seeking an actor who does a killer version of Bernie Sanders. Must be able to capture his voice and general mannerisms.... [We] require the actor to be age 50,” to which Adams interjects, “They’re joking, right?”But the producers say that over 50 is OK, which makes sense since Sanders is 78 and, if he wins, would become the oldest president in US history. They also warn, according to Adams, not to “submit look-alikes who can’t do his voice.”Adams adds, “Anyhow, they’re paying socialism wages,” a nod to Sanders’ description of himself as a “democratic socialist,” and says that they are offering “$335 per diem plus they throw in meals” to the actor who wins the role.What the normally forthcoming Adams leaves out of her story is the name of the producers, or any other identifying details about the production. She does have a suggestion for the producers: That they cast Larry David, the cranky Curb Your Enthusiasm star and Seinfeld co-creator, who has been playing Sanders for years on Saturday Night Live, and doing it so well you might confuse him with the real thing.Sanders has a busy schedule as a presidential candidate, so it’s unlikely he could play himself, but he actually has two acting credits on the Internet Movie Database. One is for a 1988 movie Sweet Hearts Dance, starring Don Johnson (who was then a huge star), and Susan Sarandon, about a married couple facing a breakup, in which Sanders has a small role, playing a guy named Bernie.Susan Sarandon is a vocal supporter of Sanders’s candidacy and has been campaigning for him recently. In a scene from the film posted on YouTube, he gives out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween.In 1999, Sanders played Rabbi Manny Shevitz in My X-Girlfriend’s Wedding Reception, a comedy starring Debbie Gibson and Dom DeLuise about an Italian-Jewish wedding. In this film, he has a big scene in which he makes a speech at the wedding, where he is meant to be blessing the couple but starts ranting about the Dodgers baseball team leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles, and concludes, “Let’s just thank God, you have your arms, you have your legs, let’s just eat!”Sanders also performed opposite Larry David in a 2016 Saturday Night Live skit in which David plays a passenger on the Titanic trying to use his wealth to get a spot in a lifeboat. Sanders shows up and complains about the 1% getting preferential treatment and David says that sounds like socialism, to which Sanders replies, “Democratic socialism.”Sanders says that if he reaches New York, he will change his name from Sanderswitzky, “so it doesn’t sound quite so Jewish,” to which David replies, “Yeah, that’ll trick ‘em,” eliciting a grin from Sanders.If he wins the Democratic nomination, he’ll be facing a tough challenger. President Donald Trump has 22 acting credits, including for such popular shows as Sex and the City and The Nanny, and for films such as Woody Allen’s Celebrity and the comedy Zoolander.Whether the planned Sanders film will actually make it to the screen is another story, but Adams isn’t encouraging. “Rotten Tomatoes could give this four ughs,” she writes.
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