Scott Stapp, the veteran rock artist and Creed frontman, will make his feature film debut by portraying Frank Sinatra in the upcoming biopic Reagan, Billboard can reveal exclusively.
The project will include a scene in which Stapp will perform as Sinatra at the famed Cocoanut Grove, at a time when Ronald Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild and the club was a staple of old Hollywood. Reagan stars Dennis Quaid in the titular role and is planned for a 2021 release.
“Sinatra in performance mode was an exercise in restraint,” Stapp says in a statement. “He had this steely, stylish swagger and his sheer presence commanded a room. I was excited to join the cast and blown away by the on-set attention to detail, style, and overall production.”
Stapp joins a cast that also includes Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, Mena Suvari as Reagan’s first wife Jane Wyman, Kevin Dillon as Jack Warner, and Jon Voight as a KGB agent who tracked Reagan for decades. Reagan reunites Quaid with director Sean McNamara, who helmed 2011’s Soul Surfer co-starring the veteran actor and this year directed Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!
“We are honored to have Scott in Reagan,” says McNamara. “Scott’s known for big, high energy performances so it was a thrill to see him shift gears to embody Sinatra’s contained charisma.”
As the leader of Creed, Stapp has sold millions of albums and earned a best rock song Grammy for the hit “With Arms Wide Open” in 2001. His most recent solo album, The Space Between the Shadows, was released last year.
