Director Kevin Smith and British actor James Purefoy have joined the cast of the Showtime comedy pilot Manchild.
The project, based on a BBC series, revolves around a group of fortysomething male friends (Smith, Purefoy, John Corbett, Paul Hipp) who are knee-deep in midlife crises.
Smith will play Paul, the cynic of the group, an angry divorced guy who loathes himself, his ex, and his ex's perfect new husband.
Purefoy will play Joe, the ad hoc leader of his circle of pals. He is attractive, polished, virile, and wealthy, and he goes to the hottest new clubs and doesn't date anyone over 25.
If Manchild goes to series, it will mark Smith's first regular prime-time gig. He executive produced ABC's short-lived animated series Clerks, based on his critically acclaimed indie feature. Onscreen, Smith is best known as Silent Bob, a character he has played in most of his movies, most recently in Clerks II.
Purefoy stars as Mark Anthony on the HBO series Rome, which is wrapping production on its second and final season. His feature credits include Vanity Fair, Resident Evil, and A Knight's Tale.
This should be great - as a advid fan of the British version - then there is the fact of one of the best director whom i have ever had the pleasure to watch one of his amazing films - then there is the British image of pure cuteness - Mr James Purefoy
AWSOME! oh wait I don't have showtime. DAMN!
Great
i'll miss tony head in this
Kevin Smith
This is a remake of a BBC show of the same name, starring Tony Head, Ray Burdis, Nigel Havers and Don Warrington. The original was good, and I was sad when it was axed after the second series. I don't know if the US version can match it, though; the original was as much drama as it was comedy.