Who should play George Santos in his upcoming biopic?

The devil works fast, but Hollywood works faster. Just days after George Santos’ expulsion from Congress, a movie about the epic rise and fall of the much-memed Republican is in development.

The movie, which is based on the new biography The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos by Mark Chiusano, is in development at HBO Films. It’s produced by Frank Rich (Veep, Succession) and written by Mike Makowsky (Bad Education). With the behind-the-scenes talent established, just one big question remains: who would play her?

The role of Santos is guaranteed to be iconic and might even nab its actor an award or two. So, which Hollywood star deserves the part? The internet has a few ideas.

Luckily, Santos has plenty of lookalikes in the entertainment industry. One popular pick is Nelson Franklin, aka Robby from New Girl. Franklin also had a recurring role on Veep, so Rich should already have his number.

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Harvey Guillén of What We Do In The Shadows fame is another fabulous option, and we know he has the comedic chops to match Santos’ manic energy. On Instagram, Guillén shared a post suggesting he play Santos in an adaptation with the caption, “End of an era … or the beginning?” Sounds like he’s on board — get his agent on the line.

they need to cast Harvey Guillen pic.twitter.com/Snv1J9Knbz

— crazy broke asian (@tribranchvo) December 3, 2023

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Harvey Guillen (@harveyguillen)

A natural choice would be Bowen Yang, whose impression of Santos on Saturday Night Live was an instant classic. Or maybe Josh Gad or Jack Black could be the perfect fit?

Please pic.twitter.com/BzrxRN2mUv

— Johnny Utah (@johnnyutah269) December 3, 2023

Picture Josh Gad taking on the role of George Santos in the future movie – that would be an interesting cast! pic.twitter.com/VmeknuM6iI

— Chombe (@Chombe1080) December 3, 2023

Jack Black would be a perfect match!
pic.twitter.com/O53UVGvdn6

— Chombe (@Chombe1080) December 3, 2023

A left-field choice is Jan of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame. The drag queen has been posting videos impersonating Santos since his rise to fame, with fans referring to her interpretation as both “George Jan-tos” and “Jan-uary 6th.” 

For what it’s worth, she’s more than down for the role: Even before the movie was announced, she wrote on social media, “I willlllllll play him in the movie about this. Trust.” And now that the film is a reality, she’s campaigning even harder: “Give me the sides,” she wrote. “I willll read for this part.”

With such a wealth of options, one poster had a truly inspired idea: Give them all the part. Have the actor for Santos constantly change. It would only add to the camp factor of what’s sure to become a cult classic.

And lest we forget to throw Santos himself into the mix. He’s quite the actor, after all.

Santos should play himself. He is an actor, you know.

— Erich (@thehall_) December 4, 2023

Related:

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