British actor Alex Pettyfer, 23, will reunite with director Lee Daniels to play one-half of a gay interracial couple in his forthcoming action film.
In an interview with Out magazine (via The Film Stage), Daniels compared the film’s premise to “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, but with “the two good-looking guys as the action heroes.” He added: “We don’t find out they’re gay until the end of the movie.”
Daniels, who is openly gay, has managed to break barriers in Hollywood with his African-American-centric films such as “Precious” and “The Butler” – the latter of which has found success at both the box office and with critics. “I don’t think I’m going to have a problem now. I made a $100 million for The Butler,” he said in answer to questions of being able to get such a project greenlit. “I’m in a rare group. So this is something I feel good about.”
Daniels also praised Pettyfer, who played a small role in “The Butler” as a slave owner and had been Daniels’ first choice for the Zac Efron role in “The Paperboy.” “Alex Pettyfer is in it, [but] I have to find the right black guy opposite him. He’s so hot, isn’t he? So hot. And so aware of his hotness in a way that’s so…I love him to death.”
In addition to “The Butler,” Pettyfer most recently starred in last year’s male stripper dramedy “Magic Mike” by acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh. Next up, he will play opposite Gabriella Wilde in the remake of the 1981 romantic drama “Endless Love.”
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