James Hetfield will be seen in his debut acting role on Netflix later this year, after a $9 million deal was cut over the movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

The Metallica frontman plays cop Bob Hayward in the true crime story about ‘70s serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy, played by Zac Efron. Utah Highway Patrolman Hayward’s arrest of Bundy was a key element in his eventual execution in 1989 for the murder of at least 30 women.

Hetfield’s connection with the project came about because of its director, Joe Berlinger, who also directed the controversial 2004 Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster.

You can watch Hetfield in the movie trailer below.

Noting that Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile had been the subject of a bidding war following its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. the Hollywood Reporter described the $9 million figure as “staggering," and noted that “Netflix will give the pic an awards-season theatrical run in the fall.”

When Hetfield’s involvement was confirmed last year, Berlinger said, “Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up. It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was thrilled.”

Berlinger – who also made the documentary Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, which is available on Netflix now – faced criticism from some quarters after the premiere of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, with some reports suggesting that it “glorified” the killer and portrayed him as something of a rock star.

“If you actually watch the movie, the last thing we’re doing is glorifying him,” Berlinger responded. “He gets his due at the end, but we’re portraying the experience of how one becomes a victim to that kind of psychopathic seduction.”

 

 

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