Giannis Canvasses Twitter for Actors to Play Himself, Brother in Disney Movie
Forget looking like Mike. Disney+ is seeking someone to echo Antetokounmpo.
The streaming giant is turning the early life of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo into a film and has begun searching for an actor to portray a young hoops star. On Wednesday, Antetokounmpo joined in on the hunt for his younger self, as well as someone to play older brother Thanasis:
According to a casting call from Walt Disney Studios, the production team is looking for actors who can assume the role of the Greek Freak at 13-15 years old and 15-18 years old. The former part requires actors 5'11" or taller, while the latter calls for an actor who is at least 6'3".
The casting call shows how Antetokounmpo's story will unfold on screen:
"Shorter and not as obviously gifted as Thanasis, Giannis has not yet reached his maturity, and he works extra hard at basketball – always remaining two long steps behind his big brother. Giannis is not afraid of hard work, and he pushes and pushes his body to master the craft of basketball -- until one magic day, something clicks and Giannis morphs from a skinny, inexperienced young boy to an 'AWESOME' young man."
By the time Antetokounmpo joined the NBA in 2013, the No. 15 overall selection stood a slender 6'9", 210 pounds. It might take some extreme method acting to pull off that type of growth spurt on screen. Fortunately, depicting a back-to-back NBA MVP's early days may be enticing enough for a wide swath of actors—or athletes—to try out.
