Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu Talks About Role In Upcoming Movie50-Year-Old Kid Poker To Appear In Comedy Horror Film ‘Ick’ |
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After a long grind at the World Series of Poker, which included winning the Poker Players Championship for his seventh bracelet and nearly $1.2 million, Daniel Negreanu chose a bit of a different route to decompress.
“Was in Houston for the day shooting a fun scene for a movie that is going to kick ass for real,” he told his followers on July 18.
The film is called Ick, from award-winning director Joseph Kahn. Kahn has been a regular director of music videos for artists such as Taylor Swift, Dj Khaled, Eminem, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, U2, and others.
Brandon Routh of Superman Returns and Scott Pilgrim and Mena Suvari of American Beauty and American Pie serve as the movie’s main stars.
Variety describes Ick: “The film aims to evoke the timeless creature features of the 1980s with an ambitious arsenal of scares and comedy. Routh stars as Hank, a high school science teacher who still pines for his childhood sweetheart, played by Suvari. While discovering he may have a teenage daughter, portrayed by Malina Weissman, Hank must grapple with a terrifying alien anomaly invading their small town.”
Negreanu’s involvement came after a longtime poker-related relationship with Kahn, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The director’s previous film was Bodied, a rap battle comedy produced by Eminem.
Taking a small part in Kahn’s newest project was a nice departure for Negreanu after weeks at the poker tables.
“I’ve been friends with Joseph since he used to do poker adverts, and I’ve since had a cameo in a few of his movies, Detention, Bodied, and the Katy Perry music video Waking Up in Vegas,” Negreanu told Card Player.
Whether he will be playing himself or another role remains a bit of a mystery.
“It’s a bit of a surprise,” hinted Negreanu, who has acted in a variety of projects over the years and is obviously comfortable in front of the camera, vlogging his play every summer at the WSOP for his YouTube channel.
Negreanu has appeared in films and television projects including Lucky You, The Grand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Mr. D, and Private Eyes.
What does he think of getting the occasional acting gig?
“I enjoy them, they are fun,” Negreanu said. “I was always into that sort of thing before finding poker. My favorite was an Episode of Mr. D where I got to really act and ad lib, and the entire show revolved around a storyline of me being broke and staying on Mr. D’s couch. It’s a popular sitcom in Canada and we shot it in Nova Scotia.”
Ick is set to premier at the Toronto International Film Festival, Negreanu says. According to IMDB, the movie is expected to be released in September and is being produced by well-regarded independent film production company Interstellar Entertainment.
With the shooting of his role wrapped up and the WSOP now in the rearview mirror, what’s next on the agenda for Negreanu, who just celebrated his 50th birthday?
“No vacations, but I’ll likely head to Vancouver to stream the GG Online series in September,” he says, “and then of course hit the Bahamas in December for WSOP Paradise.”
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