Will Arnett has revealed more details about his upcoming role as a stand-up comedian in a film inspired by the life of U.K. comedian John Bishop.
It was announced earlier this year that Is This Thing On?, directed by Bradley Cooper, wrapped production in New York in April.
In the latest episode of Smartless, the popular podcast Arnett hosts alongside Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, Arnett explained how the film first came about.
“I met John by chance,” said the 55-year-old Arrested Development star. “He told me the story of how he became a stand-up comedian, which is kind of an interesting story.
“It was by mistake. He was separated from his wife, and they were getting divorced, and he went to go for a drink, and they were charging a cover because it was an open mic night. He put his name down just so he could get in.
“They called, and he’d had a few and he went up and just started doing stand-up. It was quite cathartic, and he started going back, and he didn’t tell anybody, and that’s how he got into stand-up.”
Bateman then asked Arnett if he had considered setting the film in Liverpool and making the film a direct biopic of Bishop.
“Not really, because we didn’t want it to be too much, too like Billy Elliot or Full Monty, you know what I mean?,” said Arnett.
“All due respect to those movies, we just wanted to tell a different… so we set it in New York. I wrote it with an Englishman, Mark Chappell, and Bradley Cooper directed, and Bradley’s in it with me as well.”
Asked by Bateman if he thought he could have mastered a Scouse accent, Arnett added: “No, it’s tough.”
Liverpudlian actor Stephen Graham, who was a guest on the podcast, agreed: “It’s a tricky one.”
When Graham asked when the film will be out, Arnett said: “Fairly soon.”
Laura Dern is set to play the ex-wife of Arnett’s character, while Bishop is an executive producer.
Earlier this year, stand-up comedian Chloe Radcliffe spoke about her role in the film on Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.
“Bradley Cooper is directing a movie starring Will Arnett and Laura Dern. Their relationship goes south, they split up, and Will Arnett discovers stand-up comedy,” explained Radcliffe.
“It is based on the life of John Bishop. I promise you! I think Will and John sat next to each other at a dinner 10 years ago and Will heard his story was like, ‘That rules, I want to do that someday.’ So anyway, that’s the movie that I just wrapped on…”
Radcliffe added that she plays “the stand-up who, like, believes in him.”
