{"id":867534,"date":"2025-08-23T23:13:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T04:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/23\/kj-apa-to-star-as-jimmy-stewart-in-biopic-exclusive\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T23:13:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T04:13:58","slug":"kj-apa-to-star-as-jimmy-stewart-in-biopic-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/23\/kj-apa-to-star-as-jimmy-stewart-in-biopic-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"KJ Apa to Star as Jimmy Stewart in Biopic (EXCLUSIVE)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tKJ Apa<\/a> has signed on to star as James Stewart in \u201cJimmy,\u201d an upcoming biopic about the \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d legend.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have always been a huge James Stewart fan and feel so honored I get to bring his story to life,\u201d Apa, best known for his role as Archie on the CW\u2019s \u201cRiverdale,\u201d said Tuesday morning. \u201cAs someone from New Zealand, I\u2019ve long admired that generation of American men who stood for patriotism, integrity, and a deep sense of duty. It is important to me to give back to a country that has given me so much, and what better way to do that than by honoring a man who served it with great honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tApa will next be seen opposite Madelyn Cline<\/a> in \u201cThe Map That Leads to You,\u201d Lasse Hallstr\u00f6m\u2019s romantic drama premiering on Prime Video on Aug. 20.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tPopular on Variety\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\tThe \u201cJimmy\u201d ensemble also includes Jason Alexander <\/a>as Louis B. Mayer; Max Casella as Frank Capra; Sarah Drew<\/a> as Hedda Hopper; Julian Works as Second Lieutenant Martinez; and Jen Lilley as Stewart\u2019s wife Gloria.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe movie chronicles Pennsylvania-native Stewart\u2019s rise in Hollywood, including winning an Academy Award for his work in \u201cThe Philadelphia Story,\u201d<\/a> before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a combat pilot at the beginning of World War II. Not long after his return home, he starred in Capra\u2019s \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d<\/a> in 1946. <\/p>\n

\n\tStewart\u2019s daughter Kelly Stewart-Harcourt serves as executive producer of the film. \u201cMy family and I are delighted and excited that KJ Apa has agreed to play my father in this film,\u201d she said. \u201cIn addition to his considerable acting skills, KJ\u2019s enthusiasm for the project will only add to the energy and depth he will bring to the role.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPrincipal photography is scheduled to begin in West Cork, Ireland, on Sept. 1 with support from the Screen Ireland Nationwide Fund. Burns & Co. Productions has set a U.S. theatrical release for November 2026.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJimmy Stewart<\/a> is universally beloved as an actor. He truly embodied the everyman,\u201d director and producer Aaron Burns said. \u201cWe all know him from \u2018It\u2019s A Wonderful Life,\u2019 but as I discovered his real-life story as a World War II military hero, I realized Jimmy\u2019s life makes for an amazing movie. I\u2019m truly honored that Kelly Stewart-Harcourt and the Stewart family have entrusted Burns & Co. to share \u2018Jimmy\u2019 with the world, and I\u2019m excited to see KJ Apa and the rest of our amazing cast bring this story to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to Burns, Justin Strawhand, who wrote the script, will be producing alongside David Cook, Angela Galgani Sullivan and John Norton of Redted Media.<\/p>\n

\n\tExecutive producers also include former Sony executive Andre Caraco, Jack McClintock, Bob Gordon, Sam Juergens, Amy K. Mitchell, Edwina Forkin, Kip Konwiser, Walter Krumm III and Brian Williams.<\/p>\n

\n\tApa is repped by UTA, Luber Roklin Entertainment, Mandy Jacobsen, Red 11 Management, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jaime LeVine Sample & Klein. Alexander is repped by Innovative Artists Entertainment, Yumkas Entertainment; attorneys are Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham. Max Casella is repped by Innovative Artists & Ellipsis Entertainment Group.<\/p>\n

\n\tDrew is represented by Innovative Artists, Vault Entertainment, and Yorn Levine. Works is repped by Joe S. Montifiore at Rafterman Media, Jennifer Allen at Viewpoint and attorney Jeff Bernstein at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner Auerbach Hynick Jamie Levine Sample & Klein. Lilley is managed by Mitch Clem Management and repped by Artists & Representatives, attorney is Meyer & Downs.<\/p>\n

\n\tBurns & Co. is represented by Sam Curphey, Esq.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Marcmalkin
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KJ Apa has signed on to star as James Stewart in \u201cJimmy,\u201d an upcoming biopic about the \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d legend. \u201cI have always been a huge James Stewart fan and feel so honored I get to bring his story to life,\u201d Apa, best known for his role as Archie on the CW\u2019s \u201cRiverdale,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":867535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1397,889],"tags":[13042,11123],"class_list":{"0":"post-867534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jimmy","8":"category-stewart","9":"tag-jimmy","10":"tag-stewart"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}