What will Jonah Hill be in ten years? Comedic mainstay or dramatic legend? No one can say for sure, but the young actor is bent on changing gears as quickly as possible: Hill is taking a role in the developing Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio.
Until 2011, Hill was strictly comic. His career has been largely Apatow-rooted, showcasing his talents for the dorky, foul-mouthed underdog archetype. His first real break from this pattern was in the Duplass brothers’ indie dramedy Cyrus, in which Hill played a troubled man-child with an unhealthy relationship with his mother (Marisa Tomei). But considering Cyrus‘ lackluster theatrical performance, Hill didn’t really get to show off any dramatic chops until the 2011 Oscar nod Moneyball. Even in this drama film, however, Hill was largely a comic presence. And now, he’s jumping right into a Scorsese picture. So is he ready?
Scorsese films aren’t without their share of fun; Joe Pesci and Don Rickles brought comedy to to GoodFellas and Casino, though it certainly would be exciting to Hill go dark and dramatic in The Wolf of Wall Street. But maybe he needs to work up to this sort of role gradually. He could try out some lyrical brutality in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Then, take a spin with cerebral self-referencing in a Charlie Kaufman film. A twisted David Lynch flick, an existential Terrence Mann picture, a Ridley Scott hard sci-fi. Then he can do a Scorsese.
But unless he can squeeze all of those in immediately, the world will just have to get ready to see Hill get right into cold-blooded gangster mode.
[Photo Credit: David Edwards]
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[THR]
