When it was announced last week that Russell Crowe is in talks to star at Superman's Kryptonian father, Jor-El, in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, I made note of the number of Oscar nominated actors that had already joined the cast. Crowe, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Michael Shannon have all been up for acting's highest honor at least once in their careers. Now it seems that they may be going for the strangest kind of EGOT imaginable as the production is close to adding an Emmy nominated actor as well.
Deadline reports that Christopher Meloni, the character actor who recently made headlines announcing that he wouldn't be returning as Detective Elliot Stabler on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, is now in talks to play an unspecified role in the next Superman film. Though no character details are given, the article suggests that he will be playing a "major role." Merloni does have previous DC Comics experience, having provided the voice for Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern in the Warner Bros. Animation DVD release Green Lantern: First Flight, which came out back in 2009.
Here's the one problem with this casting report: Meloni could be playing absolutely anyone in the DC universe. The man has shown many times that he can be true chameleon, whether he's playing Freakshow in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, the weak-willed concierge in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or the strong-willed detective on Law and Order: SVU. That said, I'll let you guys speculate who Meloni will end up playing. Personally? I think if you shave his head he could make for a pretty awesome Lex Luthor.
