Earlier this month, former Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe was linked to BBC Two’s Grand Theft Auto dramatization as Sam Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games. Now BBC Two has lined up one of Houser’s biggest adversaries.
Deadline is reporting that Bill Paxton has signed on to the project to play Jack Thompson, a lawyer who famously denounced violent video games in the media and filed several lawsuits against video game makers. Thompson was eventually disbarred for “inappropriate conduct.” The project is based upon David Kushner’s 2012 book, Jacked: The Outlaw Story Of Grand Theft Auto.
In addition to his crusade against violent video games, Thompson also targeted Howard Stern and 2 Live Crew. For this project, the story will revisit Thompson’s 2003 lawsuit against Take Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games.
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While speaking to Deadline, Paxton said “[Thompson] got Howard Stern kicked off the radio and took on 2 Live Crew… There’d be a gag order and he’d still go on talk shows. He would write these hateful letters to people he was litigating. He just got too emotionally caught up in it.”
Paxton has previously starred in Big Love, Apollo 13, Weird Science, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic.
Production of BBC Two’s Grand Theft Auto dramatization will begin next week in South Africa.
