Casting Call: The Big O: Roy Orbison

In which we suggest who should star in the next big adaptation, remake, or historical film.

Roy Orbison was probably one of the most unlikely icons to emerge out of the ’60s rock ‘n’ roll scene. With his thick wayfarer sunglasses and insurance salesman look, The “Pretty Woman” singer stood out for being an aloof stage-presence and was probably the first to pull off the “so-uncool-it’s-cool” vibe successfully. While Orbison died at just 52 years old in 1988, he cemented his place among music’s most legendary artists with the earnest sensitivity of his hits like “In Dreams” and “Crying.” His versatile, three-octave voice even led Elvis Presley to dub him “the greatest singer in the world.”

Rolling Stone recently reported that Orbison’s estate has signed-on to co-produce the singer’s biopic. The Big O: Roy Orbison is set to be written by Roy Gideon and Bruce Evans (Stand By Me, Starman) and will follow the singer through his career successes and personal tragedies—his wife Claudette was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1966 and two of his sons died in a house fire just two years later. According to Orbison’s son Alex, “The movie will mirror a Roy Orbison song: having triumph and tragedy, sometimes losing the girl and sometimes getting the girl, and ending on a high note.” With no casting decisions made yet, we’d like to make some suggestions.


Casting Call runs on Fridays. For more, click here.