Actor Jesse Plemons has impressed a hell of a lot of people over the last few years, putting on acclaimed performances on both Friday Night Lights and the final two seasons of Breaking Bad, but more recently Plemmons has managed to impress the man at the helm of one of the biggest upcoming blockbusters in Hollywood: J.J. Abrams. The Wrap is now reporting that the filmmaker was so impressed with Plemons' audition tape for Star Wars: Episode VII that the young actor is being called in to meet with Abrams face-to-face and try out in person.
Because of the insane level of secrecy surrounding the project, we have absolutely no idea who Plemons could potentially play in the highly-anticipated sci-fi sequel, but sources say that he is currently "in contention for a lead role." Disney/Lucasfilm had no comment on the story, but The Wrap uses words like "favorite" and "frontrunner" to describe Plemons' current status in the casting process. While it seems to be entirely speculation, the site notes that the actor does bear at least some resemblance to original series star Mark Hamill and suggests that being 25 could make him a perfect candidate to play the son of a 60+-year-old Luke Skywalker.
Plemons has spent most of his career on the small screen, also previously starring on the short-lived series Bent and taking single episode roles in shows like Children's Hospital, NCIS, CSI and Grey's Anatomy, but he has managed to get some big screen experience as well. Most recently he played Phillip Seymour Hoffman's non-believer son in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, but other credits in his filmmography include Greg Mottola's Paul, Peter Berg's Battleship and Jody Hill's Observe and Report. Personally, I'm among the fans who know him best as "Meth Damon" - the psychotic young neo-nazi from Breaking Bad - but landing a role in Star Wars: Episode VII could change that completely.
What do you guys think about this development? Given how many incredibly talented actors auditioned for Star Wars: Episode VII, do you think that Jesse Plemons would be a good choice to play one of the show's leads? Answer our poll and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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