‘SNL’ Star Pete Davidson Lands Starring Role in Upcoming Judd Apatow Movie

Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson will star in director Judd Apatow‘s next movie, as the star continues to branch out from the sketch comedy series.

According to Collider, the new film will be set up at Universal and is written by Apatow, Davidson and former SNL writer Dave Sirus. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Apatow hopes the film could be the breakout hit for Davidson that Trainwreck, Apatow’s previous film, was for Amy Schumer.

There are no plot details or title for the new project. THR reports it will be a semi-autobiographical story for Davidson.

It will be produced by Barry Mendel, who first worked with Apatow on 2009’s Funny People. Mendel was also a producer on The Big Sick and Bridesmaids.

Production could start as soon as May or June.

Davidson has been a member of the Saturday Night Live cast since 2014, when he was only 20 years old. He has several acting credits on his resume, including a brief appearance in Trainwreck and supporting roles in Netflix’s Set It Up and Taraji P. Henson’s upcoming comedy What Men Want. Davidson earned strong reviews for the Sundance movie Big Time Adolescence, in which he plays a college dropout befriended by a Griffin Gluck’s high school student.

Apatow recently won an Emmy as a producer on the 2018 documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, which he also directed. Since Trainwreck was released in 2015, Apatow directed episodes of Crashing and Love, and an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on Mets players Dwight “Doc” Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.

Davidson grew up on Staten Island, New York. His father was a firefighter who died as a first responder during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He has discussed losing his father in his stand-up sets, and has openly discussed his mental health. Last summer, Davidson made headlines for getting engaged to singer Ariana Grande. The two split in October, and Grande referenced their relationship in the “thank u, next” video.

In an interview at Sundance, Davidson refused to talk about his split with Grande or his recent decision to stop using Instagram after he posted a concerning message on the social network in December.

“Just don’t go online,” Davidson told Variety of his overall feelings of the Internet. “It doesn’t make me very happy. Even if it’s not about me, it’s random s— like, ‘Trump farts.’ I’m not a fan of it.”

SNL returns on Saturday, Feb. 9 with singer Halsey as the musical guest and host.

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