‘Real deal’ Jack lands a lead role in Transformers
WICKLOW ACTOR Jack Reynor’s career is set to be transformed after being cast in the lead role in Michael Bay’s Transformers 4.
Director and producer Bay said that he spotted 20-year-old Jack Reynor in ‘ a great little Irish movie’, What Richard Did, which was released last week.
In a post on his website michaelbay.com, the 47-year-old described Reynor as the ‘ real deal’.
He wrote ‘ Jack Reynor…is an Irish kid that came to America with 30 bucks in his pocket. Pretty ballsy. Seriously who does that? ‘ This kid is the real deal.’ 20- year- old Reynor who was also nominated for an IFTA last week for his role in What Richard Did, was born in the United States and was raised in Humphrystown near Blessington.
His love of acting began on the set of ‘Country' directed by Kevin Liddy, in 1999. Between 2004 and 2010 he attended Belvedere College SJ in Dublin, where he performed on stage in numerous productions.
In early 2010, Jack was cast in Kirsten Sheridan's ‘ Dollhouse' which debuted at Berlinale 2012. In late 2011 he played the title role in Lenny Abrahamson's highly anticipated ‘What Richard Did' which is loosely based on the tragic death of a teenager outside a Dublin nightclub in 2000.
Expected to be released in the summer of next year, Bay also denied rumours that the fourth instalment in the sci- fi series Transformers would be a reset of the blockbuster franchise.
‘ Transformers 4, is not a reboot. That word has been floating around on the net.
‘ This movie takes place exactly 4 years after the war in Chicago. The story makes a very natural transition, and reason as to why we have a whole new cast.
‘ This Transformers will feel very different than the last three. We are embarking on a new trilogy.’
Reynor will play the love interest of Mark Wahlberg’s daughter in the film, taking over the lead role formally played by Shia LaBeouf. He beat off competition from ‘ Brother & Sisters’ actor Luke Grimes, ‘ Terra Nova’ actor Landon Liboiron, Brenton Thwaites from ‘Blue Lagoon: The Awakening’ and Hunter Parrish, star of ‘Weeds’.
Flush from the success of the official announcement Reynor scored a double when he received an IFTA nomination for Best Actor for What Richard Did.
‘What Richard Did' was the best performing Irish film in the Irish box office in 2012.
Reynor is also set to star in the upcoming Steven Spielberg film ‘ The Delivery Man' which also stars comedy heavyweight Vince Vaughan and popular Irish actor Simon Delaney.