James Hetfield to Appear Alongside Peter Dinklage in Upcoming Western Thriller

Metallica frontman James Hetfield will step outside of his wheelhouse to act in the upcoming Western thriller, The Thicket, according to Deadline. Based on Joe R. Lansdale’s like-titled book, the film also stars Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Juliette Lewis. Hetfield’s role has not yet been revealed. Filming has begun in Calgary, Canada.

The film, which Tubi is producing, focuses on a kidnapping in West Texas. When a killer known as Cut Throat Bill (Lewis) abducts a girl, her brother hires a bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage) to track her down. He soon finds himself leading a group of misfits who accompany him on his journey. Leon Hawke (The Crowded Room) plays the brother, while Esmé Creed-Miles (Hanna) plays his sister.

“I’m so very excited to bring Joe Lansdale’s riveting story to the screen,” Dinklage said, according to Deadline. “A journey into the heart of darkness to find love and return it to its rightful place.”

Elliot Lester (Nightingale) will direct the picture, which features a script by playwright Christopher Kelly. No projected release date is currently available.

A few years back, Hetfield appeared as a cop in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost) directed; that film starred Zac Efron and Lily Collins. He’s also voiced characters in Netflix’s Skylanders Academy and other cartoons, and he has played a fictionalized version of himself, alongside his Metallica bandmates, on Billions. In 2014, Hetfield narrated the History Channel series The Hunt about bears.

“James Hetfield, to his credit, and absolutely nailed the part, he just crushed it,” Efron told talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel of the singer’s work in Extremely Wicked, according to Blabbermouth. “It’s like he’s been acting his own life. He had no fear. He did a great job. I was ready to maybe give James Hetfield [an acting] tip, but he didn’t ask for a single one. James Hetfield is the shit.”