Scott Stapp (via “My Sacrifice” video), Frank Sinatra (via Nothing But the Best album cover)
We’ve been inundated with some unforeseeable headlines in 2020, and here’s one more before the year ends: Creed singer Scott Stapp is playing Frank Sinatra in an upcoming biopic on Ronald Reagan.
Yes, the rock vocalist is portraying the legendary crooner in the movie Reagan, starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th president of the United States.
Stapp already filmed the role, telling Billboard, “Sinatra in performance mode was an exercise in restraint. 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.”
His performance as Sinatra comes during a scene in which Ol’ Blue Eyes is singing at the the famed Hollywood nightclub Cocoanut Grove, back when then-actor Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild.
While it might be tough to envision the long-haired muscular singer of Creed’s heyday playing the dapper and lean Sinatra, Stapp has slimmed down in recent years, as he continues to rebound from hitting rock bottom a few years back.
Fueled by drug and alcohol abuse, and an as-yet-to-be-diagnosed battle with bipolar disorder, Stapp had a psychotic breakdown in 2014. He has since gotten his life together, and has been touring as a solo artist in recent years. The singer even poked fun at his Creed prime in an interview last month, revealing that his own kids have mocked his “over-the-top” singing on songs like “With Arms Wide Open”.
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After selling millions of albums, Creed initially broke up in 2004, and then re-formed in 2009 for a reunion that lasted until 2012. They’ve been dormant since then, but drummer Scott Phillips recently told Audio Ink Radio that another reunion remains a strong possibility.
The movie Reagan is set for release in 2021. The cast also includes Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan and Mena Suvari as Reagan’s first wife, Jane Wyman.
The film’s director is Sean McNamara, who commented, “We are honored to have Scott in Reagan. Scott’s known for big, high energy performances so it was a thrill to see him shift gears to embody Sinatra’s contained charisma.”
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