Sturgill Simpson has seen his star rise immensely since the release of his most recent album, 2016’s A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, which took home the Grammy for “Best Country Album” and received a nomination for “Album of the Year.” The alt-country star is headlining large-scale festivals nationwide in 2018, with slots at Pot of Gold Music Festival, Sweetwater 420 Fest, Trondossa, Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic, High Sierra, Quebec City Summer Festival, and more scheduled for this spring and summer.
Now, Sturgill will receive his first major acting credit for his role in a new series, titled $1, set to debut on the CBS All Access subscription streaming service. The show’s title refers to a one dollar bill that connects all the main characters.
According to Rolling Stone:
The show, a murder mystery set in a small Rust Belt town called Braden, stars Jeff Perry, Hamilton‘s Leslie Odom Jr., and John Carroll Lynch as Bud “Pop” Carl, owner of the local steel mill Carl Steel. Simpson’s character, Ken Fry, is an ex-employee of the mill who was pink-slipped by Pop. He now makes his living selling stolen goods at an ongoing yard sale.
Simpson is not stranger to the blue collar-type work of his $1 character. The outspoken singer-songwriter worked at a train yard in Utah and served several years in the Navy before moving to Nashville to kickstart his music career.
While this will be his first major foray into the acting world (other than a small role in a 2011 indie film Orca Park), he has always displayed the showmanship and charisma needed to be a successful actor. After winning the Grammy for Best Country Album and then getting snubbed altogether by the CMA Awards, Simpson showed his affable, down-to-Earth sense of humor with an impromptu busking session on the sidewalk outside the arena in Nashville while the awards show was going on. He also showcased his magnetic stage presence during an unhinged early-2017 performance on Saturday Night Live. Watch a video from his SNL musical guest spot below:
Sturgill Simpson – “Call To Arms”
[Video: SturgillSimpsonMusic]
Filming for $1, which will be directed and produced by Craig Zobel, begins later this month in Pittsburgh.
[H/T Rolling Stone]