Pauly Shore Starring as Richard Simmons in New Biopic: See Him in Character

Pauly Shore has revealed that he’s starring as Richard Simmons in a new biopic film, and fans can now see the actor in character. The actor debuted his performance in a short film titled The Court Jester, showing Shore as Simmons, complete with the pop-culture icon’s legendary curly hair. However, Deadline reports that Shore and producer Mark Wolper from The Wolper Organization — a subsidiary of Warner Bros. — are now developing a full-length feature film about the life and career of Simmons.

In a statement, obtained by Deadline, Shore said that he is “really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’s life with the world,” then added that “we all need this biopic now more than ever.” Reflecting on Simmon’s life, Shore noted how the fitness guru strongly advocated for “mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self! Whenever he was on TV you could never take your eyes off of him and he brought such a joy to his appearances that represented nothing but a good time.” Fans can check out a teaser for The Court Jester — written and directed by Jake Lewis — in the YouTube clip below.

Wolper issued a statement on the project, saying that “there is an amazing, dramatic and uplifting story to tell about Richard Simmons. My company has been making historical dramas and biopics for over 50 years now….we know what works.” Wolper went on to explain that he and his company had been “dancing around the idea” of developing a biopic about Simmons for some time, but things finally clicked when he began to notice “press about Pauly Shore being touted by social media as the ONLY person that could play Richard.”

Over the past year, memes joking about the similarities between Shore and Simmons began to pop up on social media. Shore took note of the posts and began to opine for a chance to play Simmons in a real project, This led him to be cast in The Court Jester, which is premiering in Park City, UT — amidst the Sundance Film Festival — this weekend.

Notably, Simmons has heard the news about the new biopic, and it sounds as if he is not thrilled about it.”Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read,” Simmons wrote in a statement shared by Deadline. “I no longer have a manager, and I no longer have a publicist. I just try to live a quiet life and be peaceful. Thank you for all your love and support.”