Daran Norris to Star in Phil Hartman Biopic ‘Nice Guy Phil’

SNL star and comedy legend Phil Hartman is getting the biopic treatment. According to Variety, Jason Priestley is directing a biopic on the late comedian and actor called Nice Guy Phil written by Jonas Chernick, and Daran Norris has signed on to star as Hartman. Priestley met Hartman when he hosted SNL in 1992: “We stayed in touch and he was always very warm and gracious,” he explained. Producer Tyler Levine told Variety that the biopic will “explore both the comedy and the emotional challenges that Hartman faced” and celebrate him as the beloved comedian and person he was: “Comedians are notoriously complex people and Phil was no exception,” he said. “Anyone that knew him always says that he was the nicest guy they ever met.”

Norris has been both an onscreen and voice actor on hundreds of films, video games, and TV shows and campaigned for the role by sending the filmmakers a video of his Hartman impression. Production on the biopic – which has the backing of Hartman’s estate – is slated to begin this summer.

Daran Norris to Star in Phil Hartman Biopic ‘Nice Guy […]