Judd Apatow's Trainwreck Adds LeBron James And Method Man

Judd Apatow has already recruited a number of talented, well-known names to work as the supporting cast around Amy Schumer in the upcoming comedy Trainwreck, but today arrives news that the cast is only getting bigger. New reports have surfaced saying that both NBA star LeBron Janes and Wu-Tang Clan rapper/actor Method Man have signed on for unspecified roles in the new comedy.

Based on an original script written by Schumer - making it the first movie Apatow has directed based on a script he didn't write - Trainwreck follows the story of a young woman who has managed to destroy everything in her life and works to try and rebuild from the ground up. While the addition of James and Method Man - real name Cliff Smith - would seem strange for most movies, they actually fit in quite well with the movie's diverse cast, which also features Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, Vanessa Bayer, Tilda Swinton, John Cena, Mike Birbiglia, and possibly Captain Phillips' Barkhad Abdi.

Neither LeBron James nor Method Man are best known for their acting work, but they aren't entirely without experience either. In addition to the upcoming Kevin Hart movie Ballers and rumors of him starring in a Space Jam 2, some of you may remember that the basketball star was featured in a 2009 episode of Entourage, playing himself in a scene with Matt Damon (a scene that you can watch below):

Method Man, on the other hand, actually has a pretty diverse filmmography. He was most recently on the big screen in the 2012 historical drama Red Tails, but his other credits include movies like Garden State, Soul Plane, The Sitter, The Wackness and How High. He's also been active on television, voicing a character in the FX animated series Chozen, and just recently completed work on Tom McCarthy's The Cobbler, which co-stars Adam Sandler.

The Wrap, which first reported that LeBron James and Method Man have been cast in the movie, doesn't mention when Apatow is planning to start production on Trainwreck. Given that Universal has already set the project for a July 24, 2015 release date, it's possible that the film could go before cameras this summer, allowing Apatow about a full year to work on the final edit. Given his famous love of on-set improvisation and the fact that he likes to make two-hour long comedies, he'll probably need as much time as he can get in post-production.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.