Outside Lands 2017 - Saturday
photo by Samantha Saturday

Metallica's James Hetfield to star in upcoming Ted Bundy film

Outside Lands 2017 - Saturday
Metallica at Outside Lands 2017 (more by Samantha Saturday)

Metallica’s James Hetfield has just landed his first acting role in a film, appearing in the upcoming Ted Bundy thriller Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, starring Zac Efron as the notorious serial killer. In the film, James is set to play Utah highway patrol officer Bob Hayward, who was the first law enforcement officer to arrest Bundy, during a traffic stop in 1975. Upon recognizing Bundy in his car, Hayward chased after the killer before pulling him over, later to discover many suspicious items and tools inside the car.

Although James has played himself in various films, this marks the first time in which he’ll be portraying a character. The film will be directed by Joe Berlinger, who notably co-directed Metallica’s 2004 documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, and wrote Metallica: This Monster Lives about his experiences with the band. In a statement, Berlinger described his reasoning for choosing James for the role:

Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up. It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile will be telling the story of Bundy, through the perspective of his girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer (Lily Collins). Alongside Efron as Bundy and Hetfield as Officer Hayward, John Malkovich, Jim Parsons, Angela Sarafyan, and Haley Joel Osment will serve as co-stars. The film is currently in production.

Metallica is currently in the midst of a mostly-sold out tour across Europe in support of 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, which was nominated for Best Rock Album at this year’s Grammys, but lost to The War on DrugsA Deeper Understanding. All dates are listed below.

Metallica – 2018 European Tour Dates
FEB 12 2018 BOLOGNA, ITALY UNIPOL ARENA
FEB 14 2018 BOLOGNA, ITALY UNIPOL ARENA
FEB 16 2018 MANNHEIM, GERMANY SAP ARENA (SOLD OUT)
MAR 27 2018 HERNING, DENMARK JYSKE BANK BOXEN (SOLD OUT)
MAR 29 2018 HAMBURG, GERMANY BARCLAYCARD ARENA (SOLD OUT)
APR 31 2018 VIENNA, AUSTRIA WIENER STADTHALLE (SOLD OUT)
APR 02 2018 PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC O2 ARENA (SOLD OUT)
APR 05 2018 BUDAPEST, HUNGARY SPORTS ARENA (SOLD OUT)
APR 07 2018 STUTTGART, GERMANY SCHLEYERHALLE (SOLD OUT)
APR 09 2018 STUTTGART, GERMANY SCHLEYERHALLE (SOLD OUT)
APR 11 2018 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND PALEXPO (SOLD OUT)
APR 26 2018 MUNICH, GERMANY OLYMPIAHALLE (SOLD OUT)
APR 28 2018 KRAKÓW, POLAND TAURON ARENA (SOLD OUT)
MAY 30 2018 LEIPZIG, GERMANY ARENA LEIPZIG (SOLD OUT)
MAY 02 2018 OSLO, NORWAY TELENOR ARENA (SOLD OUT)
MAY 05 2018 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN ERICSSON GLOBE (SOLD OUT)
MAY 07 2018 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN ERICSSON GLOBE (SOLD OUT)
MAY 09 2018 HELSINKI, FINLAND HARTWALL ARENA (SOLD OUT)
MAY 11 2018 HELSINKI, FINLAND HARTWALL ARENA (SOLD OUT)